Title Secondary School Elementary Mathematics Compilation Series

20240706A
Date 6/7/2024
Notice This material is released into public domain dedication under CC0, which
permits the sharing, remixing as well as commercial usage of this
document, all without asking the author.

Secondary Topic Page

Level
1 Basic Algebra – Basic Algebraic Manipulation 2
1 Basic Algebra – Changing Subject of Formula 12
1 Basic Algebra – Simple Inequalities 18
1 Factors and Multiples 23
1 Percentages 29
1 Basic Coordinate Geometry – Basic Overview 37
1 Basic Coordinate Geometry of Straight Line 42
2 Direct and Inverse Proportion 45
2 Maps and Scales 48
2 Quadratic Equations 51
2 Coordinate Geometry of Quadratic Graphs 59
2 Simultaneous Equations 60
2 Basic Statistics – Ungrouped Data 65
2 Basic Statistics – Grouped Data 68
2 Shapes of Graphs of Common Functions 73
3 Application of Quadratic Equations 84
3 Law of Indices 88
3 Set Language and Venn Diagrams 92
3 Trigonometry and Similarity & Congruence of Triangles 102
3 Matrices – Basic Operation and Rules 109
4 Financial Arithmetic – Principle of Money Exchange 115
4 Financial Arithmetic – Simple and Compound Interest 118
4 Financial Arithmetic – Hire Purchase 121
4 Vectors in Two Dimensions 123
 Title Basic Algebra Notes
Author Lee Jian Lian
Quality Control Liu Hui Ling and Lim Wang Sheng

Algebra is basically
• Representing numbers with letters and symbols
• Performing mathematical operations using letters and symbols, together with
using numbers.

If algebra never existed

• Textbooks will be ridiculously heavy
• Statistical analysis will be impossible to do, as the person writing the data will
have virtually endless amount of explanation he/she got to make.
• Certain fields of mathematics, dependent on algebra, cannot exists as well.

Tips to students who are new to algebra:

➢ Name your variables systematically, in a way you won’t get confused
➢ Don’t use letters and symbols that can easily be confused for something else, (I
never use Q, O, Z, J, I, S and E, unless the question specify I must use them.)
[If you go to higher level mathematics, you will understand why E and I are rarely
used in mathematical variable representation, they are reserved for specific use.]
➢ If you ever had to use Z, please strike through the letter in the following manner:
𝑧
[To avoid confusion with the number “2”]
➢ Use visualization to connect model drawings with algebra representation.

For convenience in typing later: I have decided to create a few bars here so they can be
copied with a few clicks and on demand. (I don’t need to draw again and again, which is
tedious even on a computer.) (Teachers with issue with using the computer or word
processor can just copy my template and use them.)
Basic Operands in Algebra:
Expression English Meaning
𝑥+5 Add 5 to 𝑥

𝑥−𝑦 Subtract 𝑦 from 𝑥

6𝑛 = 𝑛 + 𝑛 + 𝑛 + 𝑛 + 𝑛 + 𝑛 Multiply 𝑛 by 6
Divide 𝑚 by 𝑛
𝑚
𝑛

Exponents and Roots

Expression English Meaning
𝑛7 = 𝑛 × 𝑛 × 𝑛 × 𝑛 × 𝑛 × 𝑛 × 𝑛 𝑛 to be multiplied by itself 7 times.
1 1 1 divided by total value of 𝑛 multiplied 5
𝑛−5 = 5 =
𝑛 𝑛×𝑛×𝑛×𝑛×𝑛 times in a row.
Example 1.
Evaluate the following expression
𝑥 + 7 + 3𝑥 + 4

= 𝑥 + 3𝑥 + 7 + 4
4𝑥 + 11

Let’s convert it to models and see how they correlate

𝑥
Sum up all the values
represented by the
4 models and you should
get the same expression
3𝑥

How algebra is translated into models in Example 1.

1. 1.There are four boxes of the unknown 𝑥, which equates to 4𝑥 when

summed up.
2. 2.There is one box of 7 and as well as one box of 4, hence adding up
everything above, we get a total value of 4𝑥 + 11
The above also, in a way, demonstrate the concept of “like” and “unlike” terms.
In any algebraic addition and subtraction, only “like terms” can be added or subtracted
in this way.

2𝑥 + 3𝑥 = 5𝑥
5𝑥 − 4𝑥 = 𝑥

Arithmetic demonstration of concept:

2𝑥 + 3𝑥 = 5𝑥

Since 2𝑥 = 2 × 𝑥,
We can pretend the value of 𝑥 is 5.

In this case:
2𝑥 = 2 × 5 and 3𝑥 = 3 × 5
10 + 15 = 25

The other way is true as well and valid:

2𝑥 + 3𝑥 = 5𝑥 = 5 × 5 = 25
More Complicated Subtraction and Addition and Demonstration by Purely Algebra
Approach and How to Check Your Answers.

Example 2:
3𝑥 + 5 − 3𝑥 + 4
= 3𝑥 − 3𝑥 + 5 + 4 (Group “Like Terms” together)
=0+9=9 (Final Answer)

To verify your answer is correct, what you need to do.

Pretend 𝑥 = 2

( 3 × 2) + 5 − ( 3 × 2) + 4
=6+5−6+4
11 − 6 + 4 = 5 + 4 = 9

Example 3:
15𝑥𝑦 − 5 + 2 − 13𝑥𝑦
= 15𝑥𝑦 − 13𝑥𝑦 − 5 + 2 (Group “Like Terms” Together)
= 2𝑥𝑦 − 5 + 2
= 2𝑥𝑦 − 3 (Final Answer)

To verify the correctness of your answer, you need to

Pretend 𝑥 = 2 and 𝑦 = 3 in your original question.
(15 × 2 × 3) − 5 + 2 − (13 × 2 × 3)
(90) − 5 + 2 − (78)
= 90 − 5 + 2 − 78 = 9

Then pretend 𝑥 = 2 and 𝑦 = 3 in your answer.

(2 × 2 × 3) − 3
= 12 − 3
=9

Some teachers also call this type of answer checking as “Checking Answers by Value
Substitution” as you are indeed “Substituting the Value” of the letters by another value.
Problem Solving (Addition and Subtraction of Algebra):

To solve a problem sum using algebra, while it varies slightly in different questions, we
observed the following steps are necessary.

1. Find out what are the unknowns, needed to solve the question.
2. Define the known and unknown variable properly using algebra letters and
numbers.
3. Construct the equation or expression needed to solve the question.
4. Solve the equation and find the value of unknown variable.

The easiest example I’ve seen on books that can demonstrate this:
Example 4:
The sum of three consecutive numbers is 84. What is the smallest of the three numbers.
1 Find out the The smallest number out of the three consecutive
unknown. numbers.
2 Define the unknown In this case, the unknown value (smallest number) is
and known properly defined as 𝑥.
Since they said the numbers are in consecutive order, we
can define the subsequent two numbers as 𝑥 + 1 and
𝑥+2

3 Construct an Sum means, add the three numbers together, so we

Equation have:
𝑥 + (𝑥 + 1) + (𝑥 + 2) = 84

4 Solve the Equation 3𝑥 + 1 + 2 = 84

and find out what is 3𝑥 + 3 = 84
the unknown value, 3𝑥 = 84 − 3
in this case, it is 𝑥. 3𝑥 = 81
𝑥 = 27 [Final Answer]

Thus, the smallest number is 27.

Performing Algebra Addition and Subtraction (Using Brackets) Demonstration and
Concept:

The below two example seems extremely straightforward:

𝑎+𝑏 =𝑎+𝑏
𝑎−𝑏 =𝑎−𝑏

It is the below few example students often get confused about and are careless enough
to lose a total of 7 marks in exams.

𝑎 + (−𝑏) = 𝑎 − 𝑏
𝑎 − (−𝑏) = 𝑎 + 𝑏

(−𝑎) + 𝑏 = 𝑏 − 𝑎
(−𝑎) + (−𝑏) = (−𝑏) − 𝑎

Performing Algebra Multiplication and Division (Using Brackets) Demonstration and

Concept:

The below two examples are straightforward.

𝑎(𝑏) = 𝑎𝑏
𝑎
𝑎÷𝑏 =
𝑏

Once again students can get really confused when negative signs are involved.
𝑎(−𝑏) = −𝑎𝑏
−𝑎(𝑏) = −𝑎𝑏
(−𝑎)(−𝑏) = 𝑎𝑏

𝑎
𝑎 ÷ (−𝑏) = −
𝑏
𝑎
(−𝑎) ÷ 𝑏 = −
𝑏
𝑎
(−𝑎) ÷ (−𝑏) =
𝑏
Example 5
Simplify −2(3𝑥 − 4 + 6𝑥)
We must take note of 2 things in the above example, firstly, the bracket needs to be
removed, secondly, that the expression in the bracket has to be multiplied by a
negative value outside the bracket.
−2(3𝑥) − 2(−4) − 2(6𝑥) Remove Brackets by multiplying values outside of
the brackets with the value inside the bracket.
= −6𝑥 + 8 − 12𝑥 Group “Like Terms” Together

= −18𝑥 + 8 Final Answer

Example 6
1 3𝑥
Simplify +
3𝑥−1 5

This time, we will be performing calculations and simplifying algebra fractions.

Students may begin to think how to start, and I would like you all to recall how you
add fractions in your primary school by converting the denominator to their least
common multiple.

2 1
Evaluate +
5 4

2 1 2 4 1 5 8 5 13
+ = ( )+ ( )= + =
5 4 5 4 4 5 20 20 20

1 3𝑥
In the case of the example + , it turns out the lowest common multiple of the
3𝑥−1 5
denominator is 5(3𝑥 − 1) = 15𝑥 − 5

1 3𝑥
+
3𝑥 − 1 5
After converting the denominator to their lowest common multiple, we will also
multiply the numerator according to what led us to the new denominator values.

1 5 3𝑥 3𝑥 − 1 5(1) 3𝑥(3𝑥 − 1)
= ( )+ ( )= +
(3𝑥 − 1) 5 5 3𝑥 − 1 5(3𝑥 − 1) 5(3𝑥 − 1)

5 9𝑥 2 − 3𝑥 5 (9𝑥 2 − 3𝑥)
= + = +
15𝑥 − 5 15𝑥 − 5 15𝑥 − 5 15𝑥 − 5

9𝑥 2 − 3𝑥 + 5
=
15𝑥 − 5

Example 7
(Dealing with Negative Signs in Algebraic Fractions)

2𝑥 2𝑥−5
Simplify −
9 7

After converting the denominator values to their lowest common multiple, we will also
multiply the numerator according to what led us to the new dominator values, which
get us to the following expression

2𝑥 7 (2𝑥 − 5) 9
( )− ( )
9 7 7 9 ➢ Beware of Negative Signs
➢ All fractions should be combined into a single
14𝑥 9(2𝑥 − 5)
= − denominator right after the denominator has a Lowest
63 63 Common Multiple. (Prevent Careless Mistakes)
➢ Be careful when dealing with brackets.
14𝑥 − 9(2𝑥 − 5)
=
63

14𝑥 − 18𝑥 + 45
63

−4𝑥 + 45
=
63
Example 8:
(Dealing with a type of algebraic expression where you have to deal with both whole
number coefficients and algebra fractions in the same expression)

First, let me explain what I mean by dealing with both whole number coefficients and
fraction within one a single row.

It refers to an algebraic expression that resembles the following expressions.

𝑎
+ 𝑛𝑐
𝑏

Where 𝑛 is the coefficient of 𝑐 and 𝑛 is a whole number

To make it even clearer, let me demonstrate a proper question below.

5𝑥+6
Simplify − 4𝑥
5

In this case, we just need to multiply the −4𝑥 by 5.

5𝑥+6 5(4𝑥)
The above expression is then transformed into −
5 5(1)

Rationale:
For the sake of putting both the expression within the same denominator, we need to
create a denominator for 4𝑥.

4𝑥 4𝑥
Since 4𝑥 = , we can convert the value to .
1 1

5𝑥+6
And because the left side of the expression shows , we need to cross multiply the
5
5(4𝑥) 20𝑥
right ride of the expression by 5 as well, giving us a value of = .
5 5

This means, the expression is now being written with a common denominator and can
be rewritten as:
5𝑥+6−20𝑥
5

Which can be simplified into:

−15𝑥 + 6
5
 Title Basic Algebra – Changing Subject of Formula [Final Version]
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang
Polytechnic [Part of NYP Mentoring Club]
Date 13/3/2018

Realizing in my class, a lot of students have issues with algebra and I anticipate similar
problems to occur with its slightly trickier counterpart, formula manipulation. I decided
to write some materials for my own students to use. Due to involvement in public
projects, I decided to publish this file through various people, hoping it will help other
students as well.

Definitions
Changing Subject of Formula – Making an algebraic symbol in a formula (anything, from
letters, symbols) appear as a standalone variable on the left-hand side of the formula.
[Will be described in greater detail and will explain how my definition works]

Notation used in this document

Notation Meaning
RHS Right-Hand Side of a formula
LHS Left-Hand Side of a formula

Important things to take note (Or be cautious about)

1. Squares and Square Roots (Negative and Positive Answers are possible in some
cases, will be demonstrated in the subsequent pages)
2. (Rarely) If they specify the subject of formula should be a variable that only has a
positive value (Example include, distance and speed), be aware that the negative
value should be rejected in this case as distances and speed cannot have any
negative signs.

Explaining Point 1 in Greater Detail Using Arithmetic:

Supposed we have the number “4” and we want to square root the number.
√4 = 2 𝑜𝑟 − 2
Both 2 and (−2) satisfy the requirement of being a square root value of 4,
22 = 4 AND (−2)2 = 4
Example 1:
Make 𝑐 the subject of the formula.
𝐸 = 𝑚𝑐 2

When they ask you to make 𝑐 the subject of the formula, they are asking you to
rearrange the formula in a way that 𝑐 must appear as a single algebraic letter on the
LHS of the formula.

Steps Taken Explanation

𝐸 Divide both sides by 𝑚 to isolate 𝑐 2
= 𝑐2
𝑚
𝐸 Change 𝑐 2 to the LHS of the formula
𝑐2 =
𝑚
Square rooting 𝑐 2 on the LHS gives two
𝐸
𝑐 = ±√ possible values, positive and negative, on
𝑚 the right-hand side of the formula.
Example 2:
Make 𝒎 the subject of the formula
1
𝐸 = 𝑚𝑣 2
2

Steps Explanation
2
2(𝐸 ) = 𝑚𝑣 Get rid of fraction by multiplying both
sides by 2.

𝑚𝑣 2 = 2𝐸 Change sides of the formula

2𝐸 Divide both sides by 𝑣 2 to isolate and get

𝑚= 2
𝑣 𝑚
Example 3
Make the b the subject of the formula (Not taken from physics, self-created)
3 1 1
+ =
𝑓 𝑏𝑐 𝑔

Steps Explanation
1 1 3 1
= − Isolate from formula
𝑏𝑐 𝑔 𝑓 𝑏𝑐

1 1(𝑓)−3(𝑔) Create a common denominator for RHS

=
𝑏𝑐 𝑓𝑔

1 𝑓−3𝑔
=
𝑏𝑐 𝑓𝑔

𝑓𝑔 When a fraction gets inversed on the LHS,

𝑏𝑐 =
𝑓−3𝑔
the same applies to the RHS.
Can be explained in the following
manner:

1 −1 𝑓−3𝑔 −1
( ) =( )
𝑏𝑐 𝑓𝑔

𝑓𝑔
𝑏𝑐 =
𝑓−3𝑔

(𝑓𝑔) Divide both sides by 𝑐 to isolate 𝑏 on the

𝑏=
𝑐(𝑓−3𝑔)
LHS
Example 4:
Make 𝑣 the subject of the formula.

𝑠
𝑡=
𝑣 2
√
( 1 − 𝑐2 )
Steps taken Explanation
𝑠2 Removing any square root signs in the
𝑡2 = formula by squaring both sides of the
𝑣2
1 − ( 2)
𝑐 formula

𝑣2 Cross Multiply
𝑡 2 (1 − 2
) = 𝑠2
𝑐

𝑡𝑣 2 Removal of brackets
𝑡 − 2 = 𝑠2
2
𝑐

𝑡𝑣 2 Minus “𝑡 2 ” from both sides

− 2 = 𝑠2 − 𝑡2
𝑐

−𝑡𝑣 2 = 𝑐 2 (𝑠 2 − 𝑡 2 ) Cross Multiply

𝑐 2 (𝑠 2 − 𝑡 2 ) Divide both sides by −𝑡 to isolate and get

𝑣2 = 𝑣2
−𝑡

𝑣 is the subject of the formula, square

𝑐 2 (𝑠 2 − 𝑡 2 )
𝑣=± √ rooting the LHS gives two possible values
−𝑡 on the RHS, positive and negative.
Example 5:
Given the following formula,
𝑛
𝑡= 2𝐺𝑀
√1−
𝑟𝑐2

Make 𝑐 the subject of the formula.

Steps taken Explanation
2
𝑛 Remove Square Root
𝑡2 =
2𝐺𝑚
1−
𝑟𝑐 2
2𝐺𝑚 Cross Multiply
𝑡 2 (1 − 2
) = 𝑛2
𝑟𝑐

2
2𝑡 2 𝐺𝑚 Remove Brackets
𝑡 − 2
= 𝑛2
𝑟𝑐

2𝑡 2 𝐺𝑚 Minus 𝑡 2 from both sides

− = 𝑛2 − 𝑡 2
𝑟𝑐 2

−2𝑡 2 𝐺𝑚 = 𝑟𝑐 2 (𝑛2 − 𝑡 2 ) Cross Multiply

−2𝑡 2 𝐺𝑚
2
Divide both sides by (𝑛2 − 𝑡 2 )
𝑟𝑐 = 2
(𝑛 − 𝑡 2 )

−2𝑡 2 𝐺𝑚 Divide both sides by 𝑟 to isolate and get

𝑐2 = 𝑐2
𝑟 (𝑛 2 − 𝑡 2 )

Square root the value on both sides, once

−2𝑡 2 𝐺𝑚
𝑐 = ±√ again, square rooting the LHS gives two
𝑟 (𝑛 2 − 𝑡 2 ) possible value on the RHS.
 Title Basic Concept of Inequality in Mathematics (Secondary 1E/1NA/2NT)
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[NYP Mentoring Club]
Notes This is designed for use by students from every stream (NA/E/NT)

Refer to This if You are confused!

Symbols Used Meaning
> Greater Than
< Less Than

Applications of inequalities ranges from

• Science (Physics, Engineering and Chemistry, to explain that certain science or
engineering related situation will only occur at a given range of values)
• Computing and Game Development (To code computer game and program logic)

Follow the following rules when solving inequalities

If you add, subtract, multiply or divide on Example 1:
one side of the inequality by any values, 𝑚 + 5 > 10
do the same on the other side. 𝑚 + 5 − 5 > 10 − 5

If you add, subtract any types of values Example 2:

(positive or negative) on both sides, the 𝑚 − 5 > 10
signs are unchanged. 𝑚 − 5 + 5 > 10 + 5
𝑚 > 15
If you multiply or divide positive values on
both sides, the inequality signs are Example 3:
unchanged. 6𝑚 > 15
6𝑚 15
>
6 6
15
𝑚>
6
5
𝑚>
2

If you multiply or divide negative values Example 4:

on both sides, the inequality signs must −𝑚 > 5
change. (−1)(−𝑚) < (−1)(5)
𝑚<5
 Example 5:
−10𝑚 > 5
10𝑚 5
− <
−10 −10

𝑚 < −0.5

Further Proof of Concept Given Below Using Numbers

Adding of Positive Numbers 5 > 2
5+4>2+4
9>6
9 is still greater than 6
Subtracting of Positive 10 > 2
Values 10 − 2 > 2 − 2
8>0
8 is still greater than 0
Multiplication of Positive 16 > 1
Values 16 × 2 > 1 × 2
32 > 2
32 is still greater than 2
Division of Positive Values 12 > 9
12 9
>
3 3

4>3
4 is still greater than 3
Adding of Negative −2 < 5
Numbers −2 + (−5) < 5 + (−5)
(−2) − 5 < 5 − 5
−7 < 0
−7 is still less than 0
Subtracting of Negative −18 < 6
Values −18 − (−4) < 6 − (−4)
−18 + 4 < 6 + 4
−14 < 2
−14 is still less than 2
 *Multiplication of Negative −15 > −22
Values −1(−15) < −1(−22)
15 < 22

After multiplying −1 to the inequality, 15 is less than

22

*Division of Negative Values −30 < 1

−30 1
>
−5 −5

30
> 0.2
5

6 > 0.2

After dividing −5 to the inequality, 6 is greater than 0.2

Introducing “Greater Than or Equals to” and “Less Than or Equals to”
Refer to this if you are confused
Symbols Used Meaning
≥ Greater Than or Equals To
≤ Less Than or Equals to

The way the “Greater than or Equals to” and “Less Than or Equals to” work is similar to
examples I wrote in the last few pages.

Just a few things I hope students take note of

(Common sense, but well, some students are that careless)
• If the question didn’t mention symbols “≤” OR “≥”, you don’t go and write those
symbols down, using incorrect symbols results in loss of marks.

If question mentions symbols “≤” OR “≥”, similar rules applies

• If you add or subtract any numbers from the inequality, the symbols are
unchanged.
• If you multiply or divide positive numbers from the inequality, the symbols are
unchanged
• If you multiply or divide negative numbers from the inequality,
≥ changes to ≤
≤ changes to ≥
Example 1 Solve the following inequality
𝑥 + 6 ≥ 12

𝑥 + 6 − 6 ≥ 12 − 6
𝑥≥6

Example 2 Solve the following inequality

𝑦 − 6 ≤ 42

𝑦 − 6 + 6 ≤ 42 + 6
𝑦 ≤ 48
Example 3 Solve the following inequality
𝑚
≥5
2
𝑚
2 ( ) ≥ 2(5)
2

𝑚 ≥ 10

Example 4 Solve the following inequality

7𝑚 ≥ 14

7𝑚 14
≥
7 7

𝑚≥2
Example 5*** Solve the following inequality
𝑚
− ≤ 15
5
𝑚
−5 (− ) ≥ −5(15)
5

𝑚 ≥ −75

***Note how the sign changes.

Example 6*** Solve the following inequality

−7𝑚 ≥ 28

−7𝑚 28
≤
−7 −7

𝑚 ≤ −4

***Note how the sign changes.

 Title Mathematics (Lowest Common Multiple and Highest Common Factor)
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang
Polytechnic [Mentoring Club, Nanyang Polytechnic]

(Editor) Lee Jian Lian

Date 24/2/2018

Understanding some schools chose to teach the law of indices in Secondary 3 rather
than Secondary 1, I will like to explain various ways on how the laws of indices works
before proceeding to introduce the concepts as it will be frequently used in the
documents.

Notation English Explanation

𝑏 𝑎 to the power of 𝑏 It means to multiply 𝑎 by
𝑎
itself 𝑏 number of times.

Example:
32 = 3 × 3 𝑎 is the base while 𝑏 is the
3
2 =2×2×2 power or the exponent.

Law of Indices Relevant to this topic

(𝑎𝑏 )(𝑎𝑐 ) = 𝑎𝑏+𝑐

(𝑎 𝑏 )
= 𝑎𝑏−𝑐
(𝑎𝑐 )

(𝑎𝑏 )𝑐 = 𝑎𝑏𝑐

In General
𝑐 𝑏
√𝑎𝑏 = 𝑎 𝑐

Specifically
1
√𝑎 = 𝑎 2
1
3
√𝑎 = 𝑎 3

Definitions:
A prime number is a number greater than 1, that can only be divisible by itself or 1.
Recalling how you find Lowest Common Multiple and Highest Common Factor in
Primary School.

Example 1:
Find the Lowest Common Multiple and Highest Common Factor of 18 and 15.

Highest Common Factor

(Listing down all factors and drawing conclusion of the highest factor shared between
both values.)
Numbers Arithmetic Form Listed
18 1 × 18 1,2,3,6,9,18
2×9
6×3
15 1 × 15 1,3,5,15
3×5

The highest common factor is deduced to be 3.

Lowest Common Multiple

(Listing down every multiple possible for both values and to draw conclusion of the
lowest multiple shared between both values)

Numbers Listed
18 18,36,54,72,90,108
15 15,30,45,60,75,90,105

The lowest common multiple is therefore 90.

The problem with this method, it works only for small numbers, as the numbers get
larger and larger, listing the factors and multiples becomes increasingly difficult and
tiring and thus we need a more efficient method to find lowest common multiples and
highest common factors.
Example 2:
Find the highest common factor of 168 and 560.

Step 1: Divide both numbers repeatedly by prime numbers until you get 1 and thus
unable to divide further.

Divisor Dividend Quotient

2 560 280
2 280 140
2 140 70
2 70 35
5 35 7
7 7 1

Divisor Dividend Quotient

2 168 84
2 84 42
2 42 21
7 21 3
3 3 1

Step 2: Express Numbers in Index Notation.

560 = 24 × 5 × 7
168 = 23 × 3 × 7

Step 3: Highlight values with common bases.

560 = 24 × 5 × 7
168 = 23 × 3 × 7

Step 4: Take value which satisfy two conditions: Highlighted (Common Base), Lowest
Power of the two rows.
What we get is 23 and 7

Step 5:
Multiply the values to get Highest Common Factor
HCF = 23 × 7 = 56
Example 3:
Find the lowest common multiple of 45 and 378.

Step 1: Divide the values repeatedly by prime numbers until you get 1, thus unable to
divide any further.
Divisor Dividends Quotients
3 45 15
3 15 5
5 5 1

Divisor Dividends Quotients

2 378 189
3 189 63
3 63 21
7 21 3
3 3 1

Step 2: Express Numbers in Index Notation.

45 = 32 × 5
378 = 2 × 33 × 7

Step 3: Highlight values that satisfy the following condition.

If base common in both rows, pick the one with highest power.
If the base value is only found on either row, highlight the value as well.
What we get is 2, 5, 33 , 7

Step 4: Multiply the highlighted values together to get Lowest Common Multiple.
LCM = 2 × 33 × 5 × 7 =1890
Example 4:
(a) Express 2700 as a product of its prime factors.
(b) Given that 2700h is a perfect square, write down the smallest possible value of h
(c) Given that 2700k is a perfect cube, write down the smallest possible value of k.

4(a)

Divisor Dividends Quotient

2 2700 1350
2 1350 675
5 675 135
5 135 27
3 27 9
3 9 3
3 3 1

Product of Prime Factors (Index Notation): 22 × 52 × 33 = 2700

4(b)
To solve this question, I would like to introduce you to the vocabulary needed to solve
the question and the rules of solving similar questions.

For a number to be even called a perfect square, it needs to:

• Produce an integer when square rooted.

For 2700h to be a perfect square, it needs to satisfy the following requirements:

Multiplying h to 2700 should be able to ensure all the power of the prime factors of
2700h are divisible by 2.

Which bring us to the law of indices

𝑎𝑏 × 𝑎𝑐 = 𝑎𝑏+𝑐

Apparently, since the only base value where the power isn’t divisible by 2 is 33
And that (33 )(3) = 34

2700ℎ = 22 × 52 × 33 × 3 = 2700(3)
ℎ = 3 (Final Answer)
4(c)

For a number to be called a perfect cube, it needs to

• Produce an integer when being cube rooted.

For 2700k to be a perfect cube in this case, multiplying 𝑘 to 2700 results in:
• Powers of prime factors of 2700k should all be divisible by 3.

As you see from the following values, there are two values for which the powers are not
divisible by 3.

22 × 52 × 33 = 2700

Since 22 × 2 = 23
And 52 × 5 = 53

2700𝑘 = 2(22 ) × 5(52 ) × 33 = 23 × 53 × 33

𝑘 = 2 × 5 = 10 (Final Answer)

(Questions all obtained from CASCO Mathematics 4B Assessment Book)

 Title Percentages – Basics and Applications (Secondary 1)
Editor Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[CCA: NYP Mentoring Club]
[This document is created through a joint collaboration with Liu Hui Ling,
she wrote the original version several years ago, found a copy below her
desk, sent to me a scanned copy and ask me to improve it if necessary.]
Date 21/9/2018

Concepts to Cover Include the Following

• Percentage Basics
• Practical Applications – Basic Applications
• Practical Applications – Percentage Change
• Practical Application – Reverse Percentages

I want to start off by explaining what is required for this topic as introduction, the basic
concepts you need to know are the following:
• Percentages are numerator values within a fraction, for which the denominator is
widely understood to have a value of 100.

75
100

As long as the
denominator of the
fraction is 100, you can
copy the numerator
Denominator Numerator
value and write the
fraction in the following
format:
75%
Read as “75 Percent” in
English.

Basically, from my above illustration, I showed that percentages are just another form of
fraction, just that the denominator is 100 and the way to express this fraction is
replaced by the “%” symbol.
From this, we will be able to further on understand other concepts and application.
In Example 1, we have the following lesson objectives in mind.
• Finding value of a percentage rate of a base value
• Finding total value, of which a certain percentage gets added to the base value

Basic Applications
Example 1. [Applying Percentage to Get Final Value]

Product ID QT-531A
Name Potato Chips (1 Can)
Pricing (Before GST) $7.20
GST Rate 8.5%
GST Tax (In $) (a)
Pricing (After GST) (b)

Fill in the above blanks.

To do the above question, we need to understand the goal of the question itself, the
question asks us to do the following
• Find GST Tax Rate – (Deriving value of a percentage, given base value)
• Find Pricing After GST – (Deriving final target value, given percentage.)

(a)
Formula for deriving value of percentage of a base value goes as follows
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 × 𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒
In this case, the GST Tax is the “Value of Percentage”, while the percent rate is 8.5%
Which can be written as the following statement
GST Tax in $ as follows:
8.5% × $7.20 = $0.612
$0.612 = $0.61 (𝑁𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠)

(b)
Formula for deriving final value, when certain percentage of a base value gets added in.
(100% + 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒)(𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒) = 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒.
Pricing of Potato Chips after GST as Follows
(100% + 8.5%) × $7.20 = 108.5% × $7.20 = $7.812
$7.812 = $7.81 (𝑁𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠)
After obtaining the answer, the answers are to be filled in as follows:
Product ID QT-531A
Name Potato Chips (2 Bag)
Pricing (Before GST) $7.20
GST Rate 8.5%
GST Tax (In $) $0.61
Pricing (After GST) $7.81

In Example 2, the following concepts are to be illustrated

• Finding value of percentages of base value.
• Finding final values, of which a certain percentage gets subtracted from the base
value.

Example 2.
A staff member of ABC Company keys in the following information into the inventory
system, and accidentally left some blanks in the process. You will have to fill in the
missing information and provide clear workings for your answer.

Product ID QN-242C
Name ABC Electronic Dictionary Model QN-242C [Exam
Approved]
Original Pricing $25.00
Discounts Yes
Discount Rate 20%
Discount Amount (In $) (a)
Discounted Price (b)

(a)
Formula for deriving value of percentage of a base value goes as follows
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 × 𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒
In this case, the percent rate refers to the discount rate, while the original value refers
to the original pricing.
Discount Amount
20% × $25.00 = $5.00
(b)
Formula for deriving final value of which a certain percentage gets removed from the
base value
(100% − 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒)(𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒) = 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
Pricing of ABC Electronic Dictionary QN-242C after discount applied
(100% − 20%) × $25 = $20.00

I filled in the blanks as follows.

Product ID QN-242C
Name ABC Electronic Dictionary Model QN-242C [Exam
Approved]
Original Pricing $25.00
Discounts Yes
Discount Rate 20%
Discount Amount (In $) $5.00
Discounted Price $20.00

In Example 3, it will be different, the goal of Example 3, is to find the target

percentage, given the value of the target and base value. (Calculator Guide at Last
Page of This Topic)
Example 3.
In a country XYZ election, a group of 200 people is interviewed. Out of the group of
people interviewed, about 137 people are supportive of candidate A, about 51 people
are supportive of candidate B, the remaining being unsure.
(a) Find the percentages of the number of people within the group who are
supportive of candidate B.

3(a)
𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 = ( ) × 100%
𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

In this case,
Target Value is the number of people in support of candidate B.
Base Value is the total number of people interviewed.
Target Percentage is the percentage of people in support of candidate B.

Percentage of people in support of candidate B as follows:

51
( ) × 100% = 25.5%
200
Change in Percentage
Example 4
The following data shows the stock market situation of XYZ Indices Index.

Current Point 1298

Change (Refers to the amount of value +31
increased or decreased compared to the
previous trading day, as denoted by +/-
symbols respectively.)
52 Week High 1330
52 Week Low 1069

Answer the following questions

(a) What is the percentage increase or decrease of XYZ Indices Index from the
previous trading day to the current points?
(b) Calculate the percentage increase from the 52-Week-Low value to the current
number of points.
(c) Calculate the percentage decrease from the 52-Week-High value to the current
number of points.

Formula for Percentage Increase and Decrease as Follows

𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = × 100%
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = × 100%
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
4(a)
Since 𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐵𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠,
the difference between the previous day stock index points can be rewritten as follows

𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐵𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = × 100%
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐼𝑛 𝐵𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 = 31

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 1298 − 31 = 1267

31
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = × 100% = 2.4467%
1267

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = 2.45% (3 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠)

4(b)
Previous Value = 52 Week Low = 1069
Later Value = 1298

𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = × 100%
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
1298−1069
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = × 100% = 21.4% (3 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐹𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠)
1069

4(c)
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 52 𝑊𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ = 1330
Later Value = 1298

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = × 100%
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
1330−1298
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 × 100% = 2.47% (3 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐹𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠)
1298
Reverse Percentages
If you are being given the final value, percentages and asked to find the base value, the
usual approach to doing question simply don’t work here, instead, you rely on the
following methods.

5(a)
John buys a pair of shoes from a local fashion store. At a discounted rate of 15%, the
pair of shoes cost $17.50. Find the amount of money she has to pay for the pair of shoes
if the discount wasn’t offered.

𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 17.50

100%
× $17.50 = $20.59
(100 − 15)%

Cost of Shoes (Before Discount) = $20.59 (Nearest Cents)

5(b)
ABC Company reported earnings of $257 036 after paying taxes in 2005. Given the tax
rate for his company is 7.35%. Compute the amount of earning before the company
paid its taxes on that year.

𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 = 257 036

100%
× 257 036 = $277426.88 (Nearest Cents)
(100−7.35)%
Reminder (Calculator Matters)
The way you write your workings and answers isn’t necessarily the same as how you
input into a calculator, as illustrated in the below example.

Written Format Calculator Input

Objective: Find the percentage equivalent Objective: Find the number of %

of a fraction. equivalent of a fraction.

23 23
× 100% = 50% × 100 = 50
46
46

This value is the number

of percent equivalent of
23
the fraction value 46.

This is because calculators interpret the following statements literally in the following
way.

23 23 100 23 23
× 100% is interpreted as × = ×1=
46 46 100 46 46

I want to remind students that when keying in to the calculator, remember not to key in
“× 100%” if the purpose is to find the percentage equivalent on a fraction, instead you
key the fraction, multiplied by 100 and convert the value from fraction to decimal, if
necessary, and the decimal value displayed on the screen is the number of %. You write
the decimal value displayed on the screen followed by the percent symbol (%).
 Title Coordinate Geometry – Basic Overview
Date 18/1/2019
Author Lee Jian Lian
Liu Hui Ling, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Coordinate Geometry appears in many ways in our lives, the idea of Coordinate
Geometry in simple terms is to perform Mathematical calculations and applications of
calculations on a plane, in this case, we focus on the cartesian coordinate system.

Basic principle surrounding the idea of cartesian coordinate system.

You have a horizontal axis called the 𝑥-axis, a vertical axis called the 𝑦-axis. Both axis
intersect each other at 90° (Also called perpendicular to each other).

An example will follow:

Point of Origin, the

point where the
coordinate is (0,0)

I want to remind students to mark out 𝑥-axis and 𝑦-axis during exam or doing
homework, the computer software used doesn’t do that.
In a Cartesian Coordinate system, we can things like points, lines and curves.

Points

(2,2)

Points are typically expressed in the following notation as follows

(𝑥 − 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑦 − 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒)
We can do another example to illustrate this point.
Showing how to find a coordinate of a point
Step 1. Mark out the point of the coordinate mentioned in the question or obtained
from previous parts of the question.

Step 2. From the X axis, use a ruler or gently use a pencil to trace the shortest path from
the X-axis to the point. From the Y-Axis, use a ruler or gently use a pencil to trace the
shortest path from the Y-Axis to the point in question. (I use color to indicate clearly but
do not use colored pen during your exam, USE A PENCIL.)
The point we
mentioned
earlier.
Step 3.
Deduce the Coordinate Values for X and Y.
𝑥 −coordinate refers to the value for which the path passes through both the point and
the 𝑥 − 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠, and 𝑦 −coordinate refers to the value for which the path passes through
both the point and the 𝑦 −axis.

Scaling
Each big box, as noted with darker black lines, represents a 5-unit by 5-unit grid space.
Each small box as noted with lighter black lines, represents a 1-unit by 1-unit grid space.

Therefore, from the number of units away from the 𝑦 −axis, the point 4 units to the left
of the point of origin and 7 units above the point of origin. Giving us a coordinate value
of (−4,7)

Lines
Apart from Points, we can also have lines and curves on a Cartesian Coordinate system.
Lines

Two things we are particularly interested in

• Slope (Steepness) of the Line (Also called the gradient)
• Point where the Line crosses the Y-axis (Also called the Y-Intercept)
To find Gradient, follow the following steps
1. Select a point on the graph, called the coordinate of the point (𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) and select
another different point on the graph, calling the coordinate of the point (𝑥2 , 𝑦2 )
[Note the graph scaling is different this time, each small box represents a 0.2 unit
by 0.2-unit grid space and each darker box, represents a 1 unit by 1 unit of grid
space.)

(𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) (−0.85, 0)
(𝑥2 , 𝑦2 ) (0, 2.5)

Apply gradient formula

𝑦2 −𝑦1 0−2.5
= (−0.85)−0 = 2.941
𝑥2 −𝑥1

𝑦 − 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 can be approximated by the same methods established earlier and we

can tell from the graph the 𝑦 −intercept is 2.5 units above the point of origin, therefore
the 𝑦-intercept is 2.5.

(When point fall between 2 tiny square, select the mid-point of the tiny square as your
coordinate value.)

[I also would like to say, just try your best in obtaining the best approximation possible.]
 Title Mathematics Coordinate Geometry (Lower Secondary)
Editor Lee Jian Lian
Date 1/4/2018

Formula List Required

General Form (or General Equation) of a Straight Line:
𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐
Where 𝑚 is the gradient and 𝑐 is the y-intercept (Or the value of 𝑦 when 𝑥 = 0)
[If line is vertical, the gradient is undefined.]

Given Coordinates (𝒙𝟏 , 𝒚𝟏 ) 𝑨𝑵𝑫 (𝒙𝟐 , 𝒚𝟐 ) are coordinates on a straight line.

𝑦 −𝑦
Gradient = 2 1
𝑥2 −𝑥1
Length of Line (In Units) = √(𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )2 + (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 )2

Basic Steps Briefing

To find the equation of a line, you need to do the following steps:
1. Write down the coordinates of points where the line will pass through
2. Calculate gradient by using the above mentioned gradient formula
3. Substitute coordinate into the general equation form of a straight line to find out
the y-intercept.
4. Collect Gradient Information and Y-Intercept to deduce equation
5. (If applicable) Make use of deduced equation to solve any remaining questions

Notes:
If gradient is undefined but the question insist that you should write an equation for the
line, you can write the equation of the line in terms of 𝑥. (e.g. 𝑥 = 5)
[Questions all Taken from CASCO 4B Assessment Book]

Example 1
The coordinates of 𝐴 and 𝐵 are (3, −5) and (−1, −9) respectively.
Find
(a) the Length of 𝐴𝐵.
(b) the equation of Line 𝐴𝐵.
(c) the value of 𝑝 if the point 𝐶 (2𝑝, 6) lies on the line 𝐴𝐵
(d) the equation of the line 𝑙 which has the same gradient as the line 3𝑥 + 𝑦 = 1 and
passing through point 𝐶.

Parts Formula and Reasoning Steps Taken

(a) Length of Line (In Units) = 𝑦2 𝑦1 𝑥2 𝑥1
√(𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )2 + (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 )2 −9 −5 −1 3

Value of 𝑦2 − 𝑦1 = (−9) − (−5) = −4

Value of 𝑥2 − 𝑥1 = (−1) − 3 = −4

√(𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )2 + (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 )2 =
√(−4)2 + (−4)2 = √32 = 5.6569 =
5.66 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 (3𝑠𝑓)

(b) (𝑦2 −𝑦1 ) 𝑦2 𝑦1 𝑥2 𝑥1

Gradient =
(𝑥2 −𝑥1 )
−9 −5 −1 3

Value of 𝑦2 − 𝑦1 = (−9) − (−5) = −4

Value of 𝑥2 − 𝑥1 = (−1) − 3 = −4

Therefore gradient, 𝑚 = 1

𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐
 Substitute associated You can see how it resembles and correspond
coordinates into the graph to the coordinates in the form of:
equation to find y-
intercept. 𝑦2 = 𝑚(𝑥2 ) + 𝑐
(−9) = 1(−1) + 𝑐
(−9) − 1 = 𝑐
𝑐 = −8

Thus, equation of the Line 𝐴𝐵 is:

𝑦=𝑥−8

(c) Substitute associated The equation is once again, in the form:

coordinate into the 𝑦=𝑥−8
equation to find the value 6=𝑥−8
of 𝑥, when 𝑥 = 2𝑝 and 6+8=𝑥
𝑦=6 2𝑝 = 𝑥 = 14
𝑝=7
(d) Line 𝐿 has the same Rearrange in the form of 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐
gradient as 3𝑥 + 𝑦 = 1 𝑦 = −3𝑥 + 1

Gradient of Line 𝐿 = −3

At point 𝐶(14,6) 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐
6 = −3(14) + 𝑐
𝑐 = 48

Thus, Equation of Line L is 𝑦 = −3𝑥 + 48

 Title Mathematics (Direct & Inverse Proportion)
Date 22/3/2018
Author Lee Jian Lian

This material is designed to teach students basics of inverse and direct proportion.

The following table describes the notation I used when teaching my friend’s siblings
about this topic, you can consider using my notation or consult your teachers about
what notation to use.
Notation English Name Meaning
(𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡) 𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 “Subscript Given Value” Values derived from given
information in the question.
(𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡)𝑁𝑒𝑤 “Subscript New Value” Values used to solve later
parts of the question.

Please also state which part of the question you are trying to solve in the question paper
before writing down how you solve the question. I will also demonstrate how I use
those notation, you will realize how clear my working is. Students with problems with
producing clear workings can consider a similar way of writing down workings like me.
 Direct Proportion
Two values are said to be in direct proportion when the following conditions are met:
• Each time when the value of the former is increased, the latter will increase as
well.
• Both values can be expressed in the following form 𝑦 = 𝑏𝑥, where 𝑏 is a
constant.

(Some teachers and questions may use different letters but they essentially mean the
same thing.)

Example 1:
𝑦 is directly proportional to 𝑥. Given that 𝑦 = 144 and 𝑥 = 12. Find the value of 𝑦 when
𝑥 = 7.

𝑦𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 = 144
𝑥𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 = 12
Since 𝑦 is directly proportional to 𝑥,
𝑦𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 = 𝑏(𝑥𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 )
144 = 𝑏(12)
𝑏 = 12

Since 𝑥𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 7
𝑦𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 𝑏(𝑥𝑛𝑒𝑤 )
𝑦𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 12(7)
𝑦𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 84

When 𝑥 = 7, 𝑦 = 84
 Inverse Proportion
Two values are said to be in inverse proportion when the following conditions are met:
• Each time when you increase the former value, the latter value decreases. (And
each time when decrease the former value, the latter value increases.)
𝑏
• Both values can be expressed in the form of 𝑦 =
𝑥
Example 2:
𝐿 is inversely proportional to the √𝑀. When 𝑀 = 100, 𝐿 = 35.
Find the value of 𝑀, when 𝐿 = 700.

𝐿𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 = 35
𝑀𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 = 100
√𝑀𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 = √100 = 10

𝑏
𝐿𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 =
√𝑀𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛

𝑏
35 =
√100

𝑏 = 35(10) = 350

Since 𝐿𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 700

350
700 =
√𝑀𝑛𝑒𝑤
700√𝑀𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 350
350 1
√𝑀𝑛𝑒𝑤 = =
700 2
1 2 1
𝑀𝑛𝑒𝑤 = ( ) =
2 4
 Title Mathematics (Maps and Scales)
Date 20/3/2018
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
Lee Jian Lian (Editor)

Logic and terms that you need to understand before proceeding:

Why study this topic?

This topic, not surprisingly, has many practical applications. That’s precisely how people
in the past all the way till now, create maps and allow users of the map to understand,
how far should you go from one place to another when you are only just given a map.

Even in the modern days, when smartphones map applications are gradually taking
over, that’s exactly how smartphones can tell you how long you are supposed to walk
on a street to get to another place. The map application is set to interpret a certain
“zoom” level as a certain scale on a map, zooming in the map reduces ratio between
literal map distance and actual distance, zooming out the map does the opposite.

Terms used in this topic Meaning

𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑝 The literal distance of any two mentioned points within a
map.
𝐷𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 The actual distance of any two mentioned points within a
map, in real life.
𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑝 The literal area of any shape as displayed on a map.
𝐴𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 The actual area of any mentioned shape within a map, in
real life.

Formula List
𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑝
Scale of Map Scale = (Where
𝐷𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙
Formula
𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑝 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 1 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.
(In representative
fraction)
2
Ratio of areas 𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑝 𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑝
( )=( )
between map area 𝐴𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙

and actual area.

Questions All Taken from CASCO Mathematics 4B Assessment
Example 1:
On a map, a length of 4 cm represents an actual distance of 1 km.
Calculate
a) the actual distance, in kilometers, represented by 26 cm on the map,
b) the scale of the map in the form of 1: 𝑛,
c) the area on the map, in square centimeters, which represent an actual area of
9 𝑘𝑚2

To solve this question, we need to derive the following information

Details Steps Taken
Ratio between map distance Scale = 𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑝 = 4𝑐𝑚 = 1 𝑐𝑚
𝐷𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 1𝑘𝑚 0.25 𝑘𝑚
and actual distance in real
life
We must make sure the units are the same to
establish the scale’s representative fraction:
1 𝑐𝑚 1 𝑐𝑚
=
250 𝑚 25000 𝑐𝑚

Remove the units to get

1
Scale =
25000

2
Ratio between map area and 𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑝 𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑝
Area Scale (Without Unit) = ( )=( ) =
actual area in real life 𝐴𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙
1 2
( )
25000

1 𝑐𝑚 2 1 𝑐𝑚2
Area Scale (With Unit) = ( ) =
0.25 𝑘𝑚 0.0625 𝑘𝑚2

a)
Let 𝑦 be the actual distance in real life.
1 𝑐𝑚 26 𝑐𝑚
Given Scale Fraction = =
0.25 𝑘𝑚 𝑦 𝑘𝑚
𝑦 = 26 × 0.25 = 6.5
Thus, distance in real life = 6.5 km

b)
1
Given Scale Fraction =
25000
When written in ratio form it is 1: 25000
 c)
1 𝑐𝑚2
Given Area Scale Fraction (With Unit) =
0.0625 𝑘𝑚2
Let 𝑥 be the area on map
𝑥 𝑐𝑚2 1 𝑐𝑚2
=
9 𝑘𝑚2 0.0625 𝑘𝑚2

9
𝑥= = 144
0.0625

Thus, area on map = 144 𝑐𝑚2

 Title Mathematics (Solving Quadratic Equations)
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[CCA: NYP Mentoring Club]
Date 20/3/2018

Mathematics Terms
“Root”, “Solution” and “Answers” means the same thing in this topic. They are a set of
numbers that can satisfy a specified equation.
Quadratic Equation – an equation for which the highest power within the equation is
2.
LHS – Left-hand Side
RHS – Right-hand Side
“Find Solution” and “Solving” mean the same thing in this topic.

Identifying a quadratic equation

Based on the above definition of a quadratic equation, a quadratic equation is any
equation that is, in the following form or can be re-arranged in the following form:
𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0
Where 𝑎 ≠ 0
[If 𝑎 = 0, the equation effectively reduces to 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0, which is linear, not quadratic.]

Three approaches used to solve quadratic equation I am going to teach

• Factorization/Cross Method (Calculator Tips and Tricks Provided as well)
• Quadratic Formula
• Completing the Square Method
 Factorization/Cross Method
Algebraic Identity Approach
Only work when the given equation resembles any 1 of the 3 algebraic identity provided
as below.
• 𝑎2 + 2𝑎𝑏 + 𝑏2 = 0
• 𝑎2 − 2𝑎𝑏 + 𝑏2 = 0
• 𝑎2 − 𝑏2 = 0

As all the expression on the LHS (Left-Hand side) of the equation can be factored into
the following:

• 𝑎2 + 2𝑎𝑏 + 𝑏2 = (𝑎 + 𝑏)2
• 𝑎2 − 2𝑎𝑏 + 𝑏2 = (𝑎 − 𝑏)2
• 𝑎2 − 𝑏2 = (𝑎 + 𝑏)(𝑎 − 𝑏)

Basic Demonstration
Example 1
Solve 𝑥 2 + 6𝑥 + 9 = 0

Noting how the above equation resembles the expression:

𝑎2 + 2𝑎𝑏 + 𝑏2 = (𝑎 + 𝑏)2

As 2𝑎𝑏 = 2(𝑥)(3) = 6𝑥

Factorize the LHS of the equation into

𝑥 2 + 6𝑥 + 9 = (𝑥 + 3)2
(𝑥 + 3)2 = 0

(𝑥 + 3)(𝑥 + 3) = 0
𝑥 + 3 = 0 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 + 3 = 0
Final Answer: 𝑥 = −3
Example 2:
Solve 𝑥 2 − 8𝑥 + 12 = −4

In this case, the RHS of the equation isn’t zero, so, we have to rearrange the equation in
the following way:
𝑥 2 − 8𝑥 + 12 + 4 = −4 + 4
𝑥 2 − 8𝑥 + 16 = 0

We can tell the above expression on the LHS of the equation resembles the following:
𝑎2 − 2𝑎𝑏 + 𝑏2 = (𝑎 − 𝑏)2
As (−2𝑎𝑏) = −2(𝑥)(4) = −8𝑥

Factor the LHS of the equation into the following:

𝑥 2 − 8𝑥 + 16 = (𝑥 − 4)2
(𝑥 − 4)(𝑥 − 4) = 0
𝑥 = 4 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = 4

Final Answer: 𝑥 = 4

Example 3:
Solve 𝑥 2 − 64 = 0

We can tell the above expression on the LHS of the equation resembles the following:
𝑎2 − 𝑏2 = (𝑎 + 𝑏)(𝑎 − 𝑏)
2 2
𝑎 =𝑥
−𝑏2 = −64

Thus, the expression can be factored in the following:

𝑥 2 − 64 = (𝑥 + 8)(𝑥 − 8)

(𝑥 + 8)(𝑥 − 8) = 0
𝑥 + 8 = 0 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 − 8 = 0
Final Answer: 𝑥 = −8 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = 8
Cross Method (Calculator Tricks)
Look out for any options on your calculator that can help you to solve any quadratic
equations by keying in values 𝑎, 𝑏 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐 as you will need to use it.

In the case of FX-95SG-PLUS

You press “Mode”, “3” “3” to have access to such functionality, other calculators may
have similar functionality.

Troubleshooting and Error Messages (Using FX-95 SG-PLUS calculator as example)

If you get a “Math Error” message, check the following:
Did you put 𝑎 = 0 ? [𝑎 cannot be 0]
Did you key in value of 𝑎 wrongly as something else which is not number?

If you get “Syntax Error” message, check the following:

Make sure you didn’t accidentally type in any symbols apart from numbers into the
calculator in such mode.

Example 4:
Solve 𝑥 2 − 7𝑥 − 330 = 0
[Due to technical difficulties, it is very difficult to draw and demonstrate cross method
on computer. I investigated in methods to do so but none of them produces a nice,
decently looking drawing. I want to remind students here, if you are using calculator to
solve quadratic equation directly, you must also demonstrate how it can be done using
cross method, quadratic formula or completing the square on your question paper or
answering booklet. Failure to include the method of doing results in loss of marks.]

After keying in the value of 𝑎 = 1, 𝑏 = −7 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐 = −330 into the calculator

I get the following values as shown:

Final Answer
𝑥 = −15 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = 22
 Quadratic Formula Approach
As the name suggest, quadratic formula is a formula based method used to solve
quadratic equation, it is (sort of) derived from completing the squares which I will share
with you in the subsequent pages.

In any quadratic equation that you are trying to solve, there can be 2 real and distinct
roots, equal roots or no real roots, this would depend on the discriminant 𝑏2 − 4𝑎𝑐
(which I will not further discuss here as discriminant related problems appear more in
Additional Mathematics question papers, as compared to Elementary Mathematics.)
−𝑏 ± √𝑏2 − 4𝑎𝑐
𝑥=
2𝑎

Example 5
Solve 6𝑥 2 + 7𝑥 − 15 = 0

In this case, you are going to substitute the quadratic formula with coefficient values
shown in the equation.

−𝑏 + √𝑏2 − 4𝑎𝑐 −𝑏 − √𝑏2 − 4𝑎𝑐

𝑥= 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 =
2𝑎 2𝑎

−7 + √72 − 4(6)(−15) −7 − √72 − 4(6)(−15)

𝑥= 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 =
2(6) 2(6)

−7 √409 7 √409
𝑥= + 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = − −
12 12 12 12

𝑥 = 1.10 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = −2.27 (3𝑠𝑓)

Example 6
Solve 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 + 1 = 0
−1 ± √12 − 4(1)(1)
𝑥=
2 (1)

−1 + √12 − 4(1)(1) −1 − √12 − 4(1)(1)

𝑥= 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 =
2 (1) 2 ( 1)

Situation (On FX-95 SG Plus) What to expect when such an attempt to solve the
equation is made.
You solve equation manually “Math Error” Message.
(i.e. key in one by one).
You solve it using the Numbers that comes in the form of
quadratic equation solver 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑖
functionality within the In this case, I get the following values:
calculator 𝑥 = −0.5 + 0.866𝑖 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = −0.5 − 0.866𝑖

**Different calculator operates differently.

Respond to both answers by writing the following on your answering booklet

Final Answer: No Real Roots.
 Completing the squares approach
Example 7
Solve 𝑥 2 + 7𝑥 + 9 = 0

Rearrange equation into the following format:

(𝑥 ± ℎ )2 ± 𝑘 = 0

Which means you have to do the following steps:

𝑐 2 𝑐 2
Add ( ) between 𝑏𝑥 and 𝑐 and Subtract ( ) after 𝑐,
2 2
which can be shown as follows:
2
7 2 7 2
𝑥 + 7𝑥 + ( ) + 9 − ( ) = 0
2 2

7 2
(𝑥 + ) − 3.25 = 0
2

7 2
(𝑥 + ) = 3.25
2

7
(𝑥 + ) = ±√3.25
2

𝑥 + 3.5 = √3.25 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 + 3.5 = −√3.25

𝑥 = −√3.25 − 3.5 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = √3.25 − 3.5

𝑥 = −5.30 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = −1.70 (3𝑠𝑓)

Example 8
Special case of Completing the Square where 𝑎 > 1 or 𝑎 < −1
Solve 7𝑥 2 − 22𝑥 + 10 = 0

We need to first, divide LHS of the equation by 𝑎.

7𝑥 2 − 22𝑥 + 10
=0
7

22 10
𝑥2 − 𝑥+ =0
7 7

𝑐 2 𝑏 𝑐 𝑐 2 𝑐
In this case, we have to add ( ) between and and subtract ( ) after .
2𝑎 𝑎 𝑎 2𝑎 𝑎

22 2 22 2
22 10
𝑥2 − +( 7 ) + −( 7 ) =0
7 2 7 2

2
22 22 2 10 22 2
𝑥 − +( ) + −( ) =0
7 14 7 14

22 2 51
(𝑥 − ) − =0
14 49

22 51
𝑥− = ±√
14 49

51 22 51 22
𝑥=√ + 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = −√ +
49 14 49 14

Final Answer:
𝑥 = 2.59 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 = 0.551 (3𝑠𝑓)
 Title Coordinate Geometry – Quadratic Graph
Author Guta Chorgen (1998 ~ 2016)
Date Circa 2013
18/1/2019 [Reconstructed]

Properties of Quadratic Functions as Plotted on a Graph Paper.

- Minimum or Maximum point is exactly on the same point where the graph is
symmetrical

Because of this property, methods for finding line of symmetry of a quadratic function
will also work for finding the minimum or maximum point.

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑎 > 0 in 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0 , the graph has a minimum point.

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑎 < 0 in 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0 , the graph has a maximum point.

To find the line of symmetry or the minimum or maximum point of a quadratic function,
we use the following formula.
𝑏
𝑥𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑦 = −
2𝑎

Question 1.
Find the Coordinate of Minimum/Maximum Point of 𝑦 = −5𝑥 2 − 6𝑥 + 3
Since 𝑎 < 0, the Quadratic Function has a maximum point.

−6
𝑥𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑦 = − = −0.6
2(−5)

Substituting 𝑥𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑦 into −5𝑥 2 − 6𝑥 + 3

We get the following value as 𝑦
−5(−0.6)2 − 6(−0.6) + 3 = −2.4

Therefore, maximum point is (−0.6, 4.8)

 Title Simultaneous Equations (Secondary 2)
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[CCA: NYP Mentoring Club]
Date 25/12/2018

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview to simultaneous equation and to

teach the methods required to solve such system of equations.
The purpose of a simultaneous equation is to find the point of intersection (also called
the coordinate of the intersection) of 2 different lines.

Graphical Illustration as follows

The below graph, created with the help of an App named “Desmos”, illustrates the
following simultaneous equation

𝑥+𝑦 =5
2𝑥 − 𝑦 = 1

The coordinates of Intersection

Point (The 𝑥 and 𝑦 coordinate)
are the so-called “solutions” of
a simultaneous equation.

Setting aside the graphical method, where students are asked to convert simultaneous
equations to 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐 form, graph them literally on a graphing paper or graphing
grid space to find the coordinate(s) of intersection point(s), which most of the time
provides a reasonably good approximation, there are ways to obtain exact solutions
using algebraic methods, namely

• Elimination Approach
• Substitution Approach

I will be providing students with some idea how to judge which method is better in
certain situation if the question does not require a specific method to be used.
If the question requires you to use a specific method, you must use that method, or
marks may be lost.
Elimination Approach
Question 1
Solve the simultaneous equations:

2𝑥 − 5𝑦 = −1 Equation 1
6𝑥 − 4𝑦 = 30 Equation 2

Why I think elimination method is more suitable for this question.

• Done in fewer steps (Just multiply by their common factors)
• The question creates a situation that is more favorable to using elimination
method.

From Equation 1 to Equation 1A

3(2𝑥 − 5𝑦) = 3(−1)
6𝑥 − 15𝑦 = −3

Equation 2 - Equation 1A
(6𝑥 − 4𝑦) − (6𝑥 − 15𝑦) = 30 − (−3)
6𝑥 − 4𝑦 − 6𝑥 + 15𝑦 = 33
−4𝑦 + 15𝑦 = 33
11𝑦 = 33

Equation 3
𝑦=3

Substitute Equation 3 into Equation 1

2𝑥 − 5(3) = −1
2𝑥 = −1 + 15
2𝑥 = 14
𝑥=7

Answer: 𝑦 = 3, 𝑥 = 7
Substitution Approach
Question 2
Solve the following simultaneous equations.

𝑦 = 2𝑥 − 5 Equation 1
7𝑥 − 4𝑦 − 12 = 0 Equation 2

Why I think substitution method is more suitable in this case

• It takes less effort to substitute the values as you just need to substitute equation
1 into equation 2.

Substitute Equation 1 into Equation 2.

7𝑥 − 4(2𝑥 − 5) − 12 = 0
7𝑥 − 8𝑥 + 20 − 12 = 0
−𝑥 + 8 = 0
−𝑥 = −8

Equation 3
𝑥=8

Substitute Equation 3 into Equation 1.

𝑦 = 2( 8) − 5
𝑦 = 16 − 5 = 11

𝑦 = 11

𝑥 = 8, 𝑦 = 11
Calculator Guide for Simultaneous Equations (Casio FX-95 SG PLUS and FX-96 SG PLUS
Family)

Continuing from our guide on solving simultaneous equations, there is going to be a

guide for using calculator to check if solutions to your simultaneous equation is correct
as well.
For FX-95 SG PLUS and FX-96 SG PLUS family of calculator, the steps goes as follows

Step 1. Rearrange your simultaneous linear equation in the following format, as the
calculator mentioned will only be able to recognize the following order as your input.

𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏𝑦 = 𝑐
𝑑𝑥 + 𝑓𝑦 = 𝑔

Example as illustrated
2𝑥 + 𝑦 = 5
𝑥−𝑦 =6

Step 2. Press the following buttons and please do it in a correct order

[Mode], [3], [1]

Step 3
Under the first row of the table displayed, you key in the each of the following value,
pressing the [=] button after each value is entered, replacing the letters with values you
obtained in step 1.
𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐

If we use the example as our input, you should be able to see the following on your
screen

𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
2 1 5

Step 4
After keying in the value of 𝑐, and pressing [=] button, your cursor will automatically
jump to the next row, you key in the following value, pressing the equal sign after each
value is entered, replacing the letters with the value you obtained from step 1.
𝑑, 𝑓, 𝑔
If we use the example as our input, you should be able to see the following on your
screen

𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
2 1 5
1 −1 6

Step 5: Press [=] button after you also filled in the second row and the solution to the
simultaneous equation should appear.

Step 6: Now, you should see the value of 𝒙 displayed on the screen

Step 7: To find the value of 𝒚, press the down arrow located just below the calculator
screen.

(Note: I only used Casio Family of Scientific Calculators, I wrote this documentation to
highlight to students the fact that most calculator used in the education industry can
solve such equation. I encourage students or users of other brands of calculator to
research for how solving equations can be done for other brands.)

(You still must show your workings even though your calculator can solve
simultaneous equation. That’s why, I said in the previous page, this calculator
functionality is only used for checking if your answers are correct.)
Title Basic Statistics – Mean, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation Application
on Ungrouped Data
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[CCA: NYP Mentoring Club]
Date 13/9/2018

For Ungrouped Data

Mean Meaning: The value of the total of all observations divided by
the number of observations.

Σ𝑥
𝑋̅ =
𝑁

𝑋̅ refers to the mean value of the observation in question

Σ𝑥 refers to the total of all observations
𝑁 refers to the number of observations

[I assume you all understand how to calculate mean, but if

you still need help in understanding, proceed to the next few
pages, I have condensed the example for standard deviation
and mean together since calculating mean is necessary to
calculate standard deviation.]
Mode Meaning: The most frequently occurring value in the
observation.

Example: 2,6,0,5,5,5

The mode in the above example is 5, since “5” appear most

frequently.
Median Meaning: The middle value of observation.

Example 2 (If the number of observation is odd.)

Given 9,5,3,1,2 [There are only 5 observations in the data
given, the number of observation is odd]
Rearrange in ascending order (if the values are indeed not in
ascending order)
1,2,3,5,9

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑂𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠+1
Median Position Number = [ ]
2

Median Value = The value represented by the median position

number.

In this case the median position number is calculated by

5+1
( )=3
2

The third value in ascending order is the median value, in this

case, the value is 3.

Example 3 (If the number of observation is even)

Given 2,4,8,10,12,15 (Already in ascending order, so we do
not need to rearrange)

Median to be calculated as follows

Position number of 2 median numbers to be computed as
follows
𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑂𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
=( )
2

𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟

(𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑂𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)
=[ + 1]
2

In this case, the 2 middle-position number are represented by

the following:
 First Middle Position Number
6
= 3 and the 3rd value in ascending order is 8
2

Second Middle Position Number

6
+ 1 = 4 and the 4th value in ascending order is 10
2

Add up the 2 middle-position-number and divide by 2

8+10
Median = =9
2

Standard Deviation Refers to how spread out is the data. (At the present level,
that’s is all you need to know, at higher level, there are other
ways to measure how spread out the data is which will not be
covered here.)

Σ(𝑥 − 𝑋̅ )2
𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝐷𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = √
𝑁

Example 4
Compute the standard deviation of the following given data.
5,0,9,7,2

The mean of the data (𝑋̅ ) in this case is

5+0+9+7+2 23
= = 4.6
5 5

Standard Deviation to be computed as follows.

Σ(𝑥 − 𝑋̅ )2 = (5 − 4.6)2 + (0 − 4.6)2 + (9 − 4.6)2
+(7 − 4.6)2 + (2 − 4.6)2 = 53.2

𝑁=5

Σ(𝑥−𝑋̅)2 53.2
√ =√ = 3.26 (3𝑠𝑓)
𝑁 5
 Title Statistics – Mean and Standard Deviation of Grouped Data
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang
Polytechnic
[CCA: NYP Mentoring Club]
Date 25/12/2018

In the previous article, I demonstrated how to deal with ungrouped data, this article
extends the idea towards dealing with finding grouped data.

Firstly, I need to explain and illustrate the differences between grouped and ungrouped
data.

• Ungrouped Data – Refers to data that has not been processed or divided into
different groups.
• Grouped Data – Refers to data that has been processed and divided into groups.
The group typically refers to intervals of values corresponding to a specific
number of subjects (also called the frequency).

An illustration will be provided below demonstrating the differences and how one can
convert an ungrouped data into grouped.

Example (Ungrouped Data)

Height of Students in Class 721 of XYZ Tuition Center (in Centimeters)
91.4, 131.0, 102.0, 132.0, 140.0, 97.2, 142.7, 100.0, 143.0, 129.0, 155.0, 137.0, 98.4,

If presented in a grouped data form, it looks like this

Height Class Intervals Frequency
90 < 𝑥 ≤ 100 4
100 < 𝑥 ≤ 110 1
120 < 𝑥 ≤ 130 1
130 < 𝑥 ≤ 140 3
140 < 𝑥 ≤ 150 3
150 < 𝑥 ≤ 160 1
When you are being asked to convert ungrouped data to grouped data, be extremely
careful with the inequality sign as misreading the inequality sign can result in inaccurate
or incorrect answers as well as misinterpretation of the table.
(Note the difference between >, < and ≥, ≤ )

The formula for mean of grouped data as follows

Σ𝑓 (𝑥)
𝑋̅ =
Σ𝑓

𝑋̅ The mean value

Σ𝑓(𝑥)
Σ𝑓

Σ𝑓 (𝑥) Literally implies the following:

You literally multiply the mid-point of the
class interval by its corresponding
frequency value. Repeat the process for
every row and add the results obtained
from performing the operation on every
row to get Σ𝑓 (𝑥)
Σ𝑓 Literally implies the following
You obtain the frequency value from
every row and sum them up to get Σ𝑓.

The formula for standard deviation of grouped data as follows:

Σ𝑓(𝑥 2 ) Σ𝑓𝑥 2
Standard Deviation = √ −( )
Σ𝑓 Σ𝑓

**Write Standard Deviation in Full. Do not use symbols like 𝜎, 𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑡𝑐.
 Σ𝑓(𝑥 2 ) Literally means, you square the mid-point
Σ𝑓 of the class interval and multiply the
result with the frequency, repeat the
process for every row and add those up
together to get Σ𝑓(𝑥 2 )

Then you divide Σ𝑓(𝑥 2 ) by the sum of

frequency from all rows to get
Σ𝑓(𝑥 2 )
Σ𝑓

Σ𝑓𝑥 2 I have already introduced you all how to

( ) find the mean value, this literally means,
Σ𝑓
you square the mean value to get
Σ𝑓𝑥 2
( )
Σ𝑓

Sometimes you may hear.

“Mean of Squares – Square of Mean”, then square root the result to get the standard
deviation. This is a good way to remember.

Example 1.
Find the mean and standard deviation of the following data, the following data is part of
a research on how well students in a tuition class score in their test.

Marks Number of Students

50 < 𝑥 ≤ 60 15
60 < 𝑥 ≤ 70 28
70 < 𝑥 ≤ 80 18
80 < 𝑥 ≤ 90 13
90 < 𝑥 ≤ 100 8

For me, I prefer writing the mid-point value of each class interval beside the table. But if
you want to completely guarantee you won’t get confused, you can either use a pen
different color from the question paper or simply draw out the table.
Marks (Mid-Point Value in Parentheses) Number of Students
50 < 𝑥 ≤ 60 (55) 15
60 < 𝑥 ≤ 70 (65) 28
70 < 𝑥 ≤ 80 (75) 18
80 < 𝑥 ≤ 90(85) 13
90 < 𝑥 ≤ 100(95) 8

Σ𝑓 (𝑥) 15(55) + 28(65) + 18(75) + 13(85) + 8(95) 19

𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 = = = 71
Σ𝑓 15 + 28 + 18 + 13 + 8 41

Σ𝑓𝑥 2 19 2 33
𝑆𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 = ( ) = (71 ) = 5107
Σ𝑓 41 1681

Σ𝑓(𝑥 2 ) 15(55)2 + 28(65)2 + 18(75)2 + 13(85)2 + 8(95)2

𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 = =
Σ𝑓 15 + 28 + 18 + 13 + 8
29
= 5256
41

Σ𝑓(𝑥 2 ) Σ𝑓𝑥 2 29 33
Standard Deviation = √ −( ) = √5256 − 5107 = 12.2 (3𝑠𝑓)
Σ𝑓 Σ𝑓 41 1681
Interpretation of Standard Deviation Values
If you are being asked to compare two sets of data, for which both data have a different
mean or standard deviation, here is a list of helpful words for students to use. However,
the table below is non-exhaustive, and you should always consider the context of the
question and make use of common sense, before trying to answer the question.

Higher Lower Higher Lower

Mean Mean Standard Standard
Deviation Deviation
Generic Situation The The The dataset The dataset
dataset dataset values are values are
generally generally generally generally
contains contains more less spread
higher lower spread out. out.
value. value.
Pricing More Less Value of Value of
Expensive Expensive Prices more Prices less
in General in General spread out spread out
Performance/Scores Perform Perform Scores are Scores are
Better in Worse in less more
General General Consistent Consistent
Timing (To Slower Faster Less More
Complete a Task) Consistent Consistent
Resource Usage (To Less More Less More
Complete a Task) Efficient Efficient Consistent Consistent
Accuracy Matters More Less Less More
Accurate Accurate Consistent Consistent
 Title Shapes of Graphs of Commonly Seen Power Function
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[CCA: NYP Mentoring Club]
Date 4/10/2018

This topic requires a bit of memory work. I am showing you all the generic shapes of
graphs of power function.

(Note: In exam, please specify your X-axis and Y-axis and write down the equation of
graph beside the line you drew, or marks will be deducted. The computer software I
used to generate these graphs doesn’t do that for me, as it is widely understood in the
computer software manuals that horizontal-axis are called X-axis while vertical-axis are
as defined Y-axis.)

Equation 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐 (for 𝑚 > 0)

Name Linear Function
Equation 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐 (for 𝑚 < 0)
Name Negative Linear Function
Equation 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 (for 𝑎 > 0)
Name Quadratic Function
Equation 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 (for 𝑎 < 0)
Name Negative Quadratic Function
Equation 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 3 + 𝑏𝑥 2 + 𝑐𝑥 + 𝑑 (for 𝑎 > 0)
Name Cubic Function
Equation 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 3 + 𝑏𝑥 2 + 𝑐𝑥 + 𝑑 (for 𝑎 < 0)
Name Negative Cubic Function
 𝑎
Equation 𝑦= 𝑂𝑟 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 −1 (For 𝑎 > 0)
𝑥

Name Linear Reciprocal Function

***Take note that the graph will not have any
contact with the Y-axis or X-axis.
 𝑎
Equation 𝑦= 𝑂𝑅 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 −1 (for 𝑎 < 0)
𝑥

Name Negative Linear Reciprocal Function

***Take note that the graph will not have any contact with
the Y-axis or X-axis.
 𝑎
Equation 𝑦= 𝑂𝑅 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 −2 (for 𝑎 > 0)
𝑥2

Name Quadratic Reciprocal Function

***Take note that the graph will not have any contact with the Y-
axis or X-axis.
 𝑎
Equation 𝑦= 𝑂𝑅 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 −2 (for 𝑎 < 0)
𝑥2

Name Negative Quadratic Reciprocal

***Take note that the graph will not have any contact with the Y-axis
or X-axis.
Equation 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥
(𝒂 > 𝟏)
Name Exponential Function
**Note the graph doesn’t have any contact with the X-axis
 Title Solving Problem Sums with Quadratic Equations
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[From Nanyang Polytechnic Mentoring Club]
Editor Hui Ling, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Inspector Lee Jian Lian
Date 26/2/2018

I am Wang Sheng from Mentoring Club. I am here to demonstrate how do you solve a
problem sum by using quadratic equation. The procedure if you notice, it is standardized
among all types of questions requiring you to form quadratic equation and solve them
to get your answer.

[DO NOT READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU DON’T UNDERTAND HOW TO FIND SOLUTIONS
TO A QUADRATIC EQUATION. THIS DOCUMENT ASSUMES YOU UNDERSTAND
COMPLETING THE SQUARES AND QUADRATIC FORMULA.]

Step Description
1 Form Expressions
2 Form Equation
3 Reduce the Equation to Quadratic Form
4 Find the Solutions to the Quadratic Equation(s) derived
5 Reject Values that doesn’t make sense. (Examples: Dividing by Zero,
Negative Distance.) [If Applicable]
6 Answer Remaining Questions

The six steps will be demonstrated in the next page and these are based on my teaching
experience in my CCA. I will try to make the whole document as simple to understand as
possible for beginners.

[Note: Questions Taken from CASCO Mathematics Assessment Book 4B]

Example Question 1:
A motorist travelled 60km from P to Q at an average speed of 𝑥 km/h.
(a) Write down an expression, in terms of 𝑥, for the time taken, in hours, for the
journey.
On his return journey from Q to P, his average speed was reduced by 5 km/h due to
heavy traffic on the way.
(b) Write down an expression, in terms of 𝑥, for the time taken, in hours, for the
return journey.
(c) If the return journey took 10 minutes longer, form an equation in 𝑥 and show
that it reduces to
𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 − 1800 = 0
(d) Solve the equation 𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 − 1800 = 0
(e) Find the time taken for the return journey.

Step 1. Form Expression

Q1(a) Distance = 60km
Average Speed = 𝑥 km/h
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Since = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑
60
Time taken from P to Q must be = ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠.
𝑥

Q1(b) Distance = 60 km (Reverse Direction Thus Distance Unchanged)

Speed = 𝑥 − 5 km/h.
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Since = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑
60
Time taken from Q to P must be = hours.
𝑥−5

Step 2. Form Equation

Q1(c) Since the return journey is 10 minutes longer, and the unit specified in the
1
question is in hours, we must convert “10 minutes” into hours.
6

Therefore, the following equation is formed.

(Take note, the return journey is longer, so the value must be, return journey –
1
the initial trip = hours.
6
60 60 1
− =
𝑥−5 𝑥 6
 Step 3. Show that the equation can be reduced into quadratic form as shown in the
question.
Q1(c) 60 60 1
− =
𝑥−5 𝑥 6

60(𝑥) 60(𝑥 − 5) 1
− =
𝑥 (𝑥 − 5) 𝑥 (𝑥 − 5) 6

60𝑥 − 60𝑥 + 300 1

=
𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 6

(60𝑥 − 60𝑥 + 300) 1

=
𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 6

300 1
=
𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 6

1 2
300 = (𝑥 − 5𝑥)
6

6(300) = 𝑥 2 − 5𝑥

0 = 𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 − 1800

𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 − 1800 = 0 [Shown]
Notes TAKE NOTE OF NEGATIVE SIGNS

Step 4. Find Solution to the Equation (Also called solve the equation)
Q1(d) (In this case, equation will be solved using quadratic formula method, if the
question doesn’t specify any methods, you can use any method you like.)
However, if the question does require specific methods to be used to solve the
equation, use the stated method in the question.

−𝑏 ± √𝑏2 − 4𝑎𝑐
𝑥=
2𝑎
𝑎 = 1, 𝑏 = −5, 𝑐 = −1800
 −(−5) + √(−5)2 − 4(1)(−1800)
𝑥=
2(1)
OR
−(−5) − √(−5)2 − 4(1)(−1800)
𝑥=
2(1)

𝑥 = 45 𝑂𝑅 𝑥 = −40

Q1(e) Since you can’t have negative speed value, 𝑥 = −40 must be rejected.

Since question asks for time required for return journey.

They are asking for the value of
60
𝑥−5

Substitute 𝑥 = 45 into the above expression to get

60
= 1.5
(45 − 5)

Time taken for return journey = 1 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 30 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠.

 Title Laws of Indices – Evaluation of Algebraic Expressions Containing Powers and
Simplification of Expressions)
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[CCA: NYP Mentoring Club]
Date 25/12/2018

Objective of document
• Explanation of Various Laws of Indices (That some school teachers miss out)
• Demonstration on questions which involves complicated expression involving
powers, fraction inside fraction, negative powers and multiple brackets in a single
expression.

Basic Laws of Indices Demonstration of Concept Using Numbers

𝑎𝑚 (𝑎𝑛 ) = 𝑎𝑚+𝑚 22 × 2 3 = (2 × 2) × (2 × 2 × 2) = 25
𝑎𝑚 23 2 × 2 × 2
= 𝑎𝑚−𝑛 = = 23−1 = 22
𝑎𝑛 21 2
(𝑎𝑚 )𝑛 = (𝑎)𝑚𝑛 (22 )3 = (2 × 2)3
= (2 × 2) × (2 × 2) × (2 × 2) = 22(3) = 26
1 Using the previously mentioned law of indices,
𝑎−𝑛 = 𝑛 22
𝑎 we can write an expression: 4
(Note: denominator must not equal 2
22 2×2 2−4 −2 1
zero as division by zero is undefined) 24 = 2×2×2×2 = 2 =2 = 2
2

𝑎0 = 1 Using the previously mentioned law of indices,

(Note 𝑎 ≠ 0, as 00 is undefined) we can write an expression
23 2×2×2
3
= = 23−3 = 20 = 1
2 2×2×2
𝑎 𝑚 𝑎𝑚 2 3 2 2 2 23
( ) = 𝑚 ( ) = × × = 3
𝑏 𝑏 3 3 3 3 3

(Note 𝑏 ≠ 0, as division by zero is

undefined)
𝑚 𝑛
𝑎 𝑛 = √𝑎𝑚 Using the previously mentioned law of indices,
we can write the following:
24 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2
4 4
22 = √2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = √24 = 22 = 22
(𝑎𝑏)𝑛 = 𝑎𝑛 (𝑏𝑛 )
 Derived Law of Indices Simplest Proof of Concept
𝑎𝑚 −1 𝑎𝑛 1 −1 1 5
( 𝑛
) = ( ) = 1 = =5
𝑎 𝑎𝑚 5 ( ) 1
5

𝑎𝑚 −𝑥 𝑎𝑛 𝑥
( 𝑛 ) = ( 𝑚)
𝑎 𝑎
Tips to do complicated indices question (with nested fractions, powers and negative
powers all in the same question.)

Read question (Examine the details closely)

Take note of any “out of the ordinary” situation (Example can include zero
powers, that makes solving a seamlessly complicated question easier)
Take note of any negative powers.
Take note of any roots.
Write the expression in fully index notation
Solve the question from inner brackets to outer bracket
Check your answers

I will demonstrate some questions and explain how the tips can be applied.

(Questions all taken from CASCO Mathematics Assessment Book 4B)

Example 1:
3
Simplify (4𝑥 2 )2
3
(4𝑥 2 )2 (Things to take note highlighted)

3 3
Apply the following laws of indices
= 42 𝑥 2(2) 𝑚
𝑛
𝑎 𝑛 = √𝑎 𝑚
(𝑎𝑏)𝑛 = 𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑛

= 8𝑥 3 (Final Answers)
Example 2:
1 −4
Evaluate ( ) × 80
2

1 −4 Things to take note (Zero Power and

( ) × 80 Negative Powers)
2

2 4 Apply the following law of indices

=( ) ×1
1 𝑎0 =1
𝑎 𝑚 𝑎𝑚
( ) = 𝑚
𝑏 𝑏

= 16

Example 3:
3
(𝑥 2 ) × √𝑥
Given that 3 = 𝑥 𝑛 . Calculate the value of 𝑛.
√𝑥

1
(𝑥 2 )3 × 𝑥 2 Convert values all to index notation
𝑛
1 =𝑥
𝑥3

1
Apply the following law of indices
(𝑥 6 × 𝑥 2 )
1 =𝑥 𝑛 (𝑎𝑚 )𝑛 = 𝑎𝑚𝑛
𝑥3
𝑎 𝑚 𝑎𝑚
1 ( ) = 𝑚
𝑥 6+2 𝑛
𝑏 𝑏
1 = 𝑥
𝑥3
1 1 1
Apply the following law of indices
𝑥 62−3 = 𝑥 66 = 𝑥𝑛
𝑎𝑚
𝑛
= 𝑎𝑚−𝑛
𝑎
 1
𝑛=6
6
 Title Venn Diagrams and Set Language
Author Lim Wang Sheng, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic
[CCA: NYP Mentoring Club]
Date 21/7/2018

Knowing a lot of students are having problems with this topic, I will also be explaining
the tricks I’ve used (derived from my secondary school teacher’s approach) to do
questions pertaining to this topic. Before we began, let’s talk about why this topic is
important.

It serves as a basic concept to be applied to various other concepts in the following

fields
• Electronics (Logic Gate and Computer System Programming)
• Software Development (Creating Computer Software and Understanding
Software Logic)
• Mathematical Proofs and Logic Demonstration
Notation Alternative Notation Meaning of the Notation
𝜀 𝕌 Universal Set: A set containing all the
(Not used in ‘O’ Levels, possible element, in which all are
appears in other subsets.
textbooks)
∩ 𝐴𝑁𝐷 Intersection: To take the intersection
(Not used in ‘O’ Levels, between multiple sets.
appears in programmer
guide and electrical Further explanation: When you say to
theory books) take the intersection between multiple
(E.g. 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) sets, you are taking any elements
common between the sets.

Example Below Meant: To take the

intersection or common elements
between A and B.
∪ 𝑂𝑅 Union: To take element that appear in
(Not used in ‘O’ Levels, either set, along with the intersection
appears in programmer between the sets.
guide and electrical
theory books) Further explanation: When you say to
take the union between multiple sets,
(E.g. 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵) you are taking every possible element in
both sets, along with the intersection.

Example Below Meant: To take the

elements that appear in either Set A or
Set B, along with the intersection
between A and B.
∈ Element of: To explain that something is
an element of a set.
𝑛 (𝐴 ) Number of Element in a specific set: In
this case, we are talking number of
elements in set A.
𝐴′ 𝐴𝑐 Complement of a specific set:
(Not used in ‘O’ Levels, In this case, we are talking about the
appears in other complement of set A, or simply,
textbooks) whatever element not found in set A.
 ⊆ To be a subset of:
In the example below the notation, we
E.g. (𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵) are saying that whatever element found
in set A is found in set B as well.
⊂ To be a proper subset of:
E.g. 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵)
( In the example below the notation, we
are implying that whatever element
found in set A is found in set B. However,
set B must contain at least one element
not found in set A.
{} To contain the following elements as
mentioned.
E.g. 𝐴 = {1,2,3} In the example, we meant set A is to
contain elements 1,2,3.
∅ To describe a null set, or a set that
E.g. 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = ∅ doesn’t exist.
In the example, it implies the
intersection between set A and set B
does not exist.

Example 1. Drawing Venn Diagram for a Given Question. (Elements of sets not given,
just ask you to draw Venn Diagram)

A universal set is given by 𝜀 and its subsets are given by 𝐴 and 𝐵.

Draw separate Venn Diagrams, for the following situations.
(a) 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵
(b) 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵
(c) 𝐴′ ∪ 𝐵
(d)(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵′)′
(e) 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = ∅

To facilitate understanding of the question, I would assign “dummy elements” to set A,

set B and 𝜀. The dummy element will not be used for answering of question. In an exam
situation, I will either ask for extra paper and write the dummy elements down and do
workings with the help of the dummy element or, I will do workings with a pencil with
the dummy elements and erase them later.
Dummy Elements
𝜀 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
𝐴 = {2,3,4,5}
𝐵 = {4,5,6,7,8,9}

Example 1(a)
Step 1: Understand the 𝐴 = {2,3,4,5}
question using the dummy 𝐵 = {4,5,6,7,8,9}
elements you produce. 𝜀 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}

In this case, they are asking for 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵. We are going

to look for dummy elements common to both A and
B.
Step 2: Draw a Venn Diagram,
in pencil, along with the
dummy elements into the
diagram.

Step 3: Shade the area

enclosed within the dummy
elements you are finding, in
this case, we shade the area
that encloses 4,5 as follows.
Step 4: Carefully Erase the
Dummy Elements while
retaining the shaded area as
follows.

Example 1(b)
Same procedure will apply as well, except you are shading the union, meaning
element A, element B, along with the intersection between A and B. since the
question asked for 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵.

Example 1(b)
Step 1 𝐴 = {2,3,4,5}
Understand the question 𝐵 = {4,5,6,7,8,9}
using dummy elements 𝜀 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}

In this case, they are asking for 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵, the union

between both sets, which means, elements in both A
and B, along with elements they share should be
highlighted as above.

Step 2: Draw a Venn Diagram,

in pencil, along with the
dummy elements into the
diagram.
Step 3: Shade area which
encloses the dummy
elements highlighted
previously, in this case, we
shade the area occupying
2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

Step 4: Erase all dummy

elements you written
previously carefully.

Example 1(c)
Step 1: 𝜀 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
Understand the question 𝐴 = {2,3,4,5}
using dummy elements 𝐵 = {4,5,6,7,8,9}

Since the question asked for 𝐴′ ∪ 𝐵, we highlighted

elements that satisfy the following conditions.
- Found in universal set
- Not found in A
- Found in B
Step 2: Draw a Venn Diagram,
in pencil, along with the
dummy elements into the
diagram.

Step 3: Shade areas which

encloses the elements
highlighted previously.

Step 4: Erase Dummy

Elements carefully.
Example 1(d)
Step 1: Understand the 𝜀 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
question using the dummy 𝐴 = {2,3,4,5}
elements you produce. 𝐵 = {4,5,6,7,8,9}

Question Asked for (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵′)′. We have analyses the

question in following detail.

𝐴 ∩ 𝐵′ is to be highlighted as follows:

𝜀 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
𝐴 = {2,3,4,5}
𝐵 = {4,5,6,7,8,9}

𝐵′ = {1,2,3,10)

Question asked for (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵′ )′. Values highlighted in

the previous part will not be highlighted in the next
part of the working. Values not highlighted will be
highlighted in the next part of the working like this.
𝜀 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
𝐴 = {2,3,4,5}
𝐵 = {4,5,6,7,8,9}
Step 2: Draw a Venn Diagram,
in pencil, along with the
dummy elements into the
diagram.

Step 3: Shade areas which Areas enclosing the following elements will be
encloses the elements shaded.
highlighted previously. {1,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}

Step 4
Erase Dummy Elements
carefully to get the following
Example 1(e) [Special Case]
*** Please commit this to memory.

Firstly, we need to understand what set notation 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = ∅ mean.

We break this down into several parts

𝐴∩𝐵 Intersect Between A and B
∅ Null Set (In English Terms, doesn’t exist.)
𝐴∩𝐵 =∅ The intersection between A and B is non-existent, implying
set A and set B doesn’t overlap in a Venn Diagram. This is
also known as “disjointed sets”.
Drawn out in Venn Diagram Form.

***Unless question specify additional instructions, you

most likely don’t have to shade the Venn Diagram, ask
your teachers if in doubt as my school doesn’t require us
to shade diagram if sets are supposed to be disjointed.
Title Basic Trigonometry and Geometry of Congruent & Similar Triangles
Notes This article assumes that you have already studied and understand the basic
rules of geometry as it will include basic level guides to proving congruence
and similarity of triangles.

Pythagoras’ Theorem
Given that 𝑐 refers to the hypotenuse (the longest side) of a right-angled triangle,
a 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏 represent the other 2 sides of a right-angled triangle, the Pythagoras’
theorem implies the following
𝑎2 + 𝑏2 = 𝑐 2
Which can also be rewritten as √𝑎2 + 𝑏2 = 𝑐

Basic Trigonometric Ratios of Right-angled Triangle

𝑂𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒
sin 𝜃 = Hypotenuse side
𝐻𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒

𝐴𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒 Opposite Side

cos 𝜃 = Angle
𝐻𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒
𝜃
Adjacent side
𝑂𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒
tan 𝜃 =
𝐴𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒

In the above right-angled triangle, we can see that the hypotenuse side is the longest
in any right-angled triangle. The adjacent side refers to the side of the triangle that is
closest to the angle in question. Finally, the opposite side refers to the side of the
triangle that is opposite of the given angle 𝜃 in question.

Uses of Basic Inverse Trigonometric Functions on Calculator

𝜃 = sin−1 (sin 𝜃)

𝜃 = cos −1 (cos 𝜃)

𝜃 = tan−1 (tan 𝜃)
Given any triangle, such as the
triangle on the right of this row as an
example.

Sine Rule states the following:

sin 𝐴 sin 𝐵 sin 𝐶

= =
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐

Where ∠𝐴 is opposite of side 𝑎

∠𝐵 is opposite of side 𝑏
∠𝐶 is opposite of side 𝑐

Or in the case of the triangle we have

on the right side of the row

sin ∠𝐵𝐴𝐶 𝑠𝑖𝑛∠𝐴𝐵𝐶 sin ∠𝐵𝐶𝐴

= =
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
Cosine Rule states the following:

𝑎2 = 𝑏2 + 𝑐 2 − 2𝑏𝑐 cos 𝐴

𝑏2 = 𝑎2 + 𝑐 2 − 2𝑎𝑐 cos 𝐵

𝑐 2 = 𝑎2 + 𝑏2 − 2𝑎𝑏 cos 𝐶

Where ∠𝐴 is opposite of side 𝑎

∠𝐵 is opposite of side 𝑏
∠𝐶 is opposite of side 𝑐

Because of the formula, it is also

possible to find ∠𝐴, ∠𝐵 and ∠𝐶 by
working with the formula of cosine
rule via the following as derived from
the above formulae.

𝑎2 −𝑏2 −𝑐 2
cos 𝐴 =
−2𝑏𝑐
 𝑏2 −𝑎2 −𝑐 2
cos 𝐵 =
−2𝑎𝑐

𝑐 2 −𝑎2 −𝑏2
cos 𝐶 =
−2𝑎𝑏

∠𝐴 = cos −1 (cos 𝐴)
∠𝐵 = cos −1 (cos 𝐵)
∠𝐶 = cos −1 (cos 𝐶)
Given a triangle, with 2 known sides
length and 1 known angle that lies
between the 2 known sides, the
formula for area of such triangle is
given as below:
1
𝑎𝑏 sin 𝐶
2

Concepts involving Angle of

Elavation and Angle of Depression

Angle of Elavation
(Observed object)
Observer

𝜃
(Representing
the angle of
elevation)
Angle of Depression

Observer

(Observed
Angle of object)
Depression as
represented
using 𝜃

Concepts of Congruence of Triangles: Example

Triangles are said to be congruent to △ 𝑨𝑩𝑪 ≡△ 𝑿𝒀𝒁 (By SAS Triangle
each other when they are exactly Congruence Rule)
the same shape, size and Implies triangle ABC is congruent to triangle
dimensions. XYZ as both triangle share similar length on 2
Notation: We use the symbol sides and share the same included angle.
”≡” to mean “is congurent to” and
use the following rules to justify why
two triangles are congruent.

SSS (Side-Side-Side) Congruence Rule Illustration of Concepts

Explanation – Two triangles are said
to be congruent if all three
corresponding sides are equal.
SAS (Side-Angle-Side) Congruence
Rule
Explanation – Two triangle are said to
be congurent if two corresponding
side are equal and they have an equal
including angle

AAS (Angle Angle Side) Congruence

Rule
Explanation: Two triangles are said to
be congruent when two angles and a
corresponding side are equal

ASA (Angle-Side-Angle) Congruence

Rule
Explanation: Two triangles are said to
be congruent when two angle and an
included side are equal

RHS (Right-angle Hypothenus Side)

Congruence Rule
Explanation: Two triangles are said to
be congruent when both triangle
have a right angle, equal hypohtenus
length and another equal side)
Concept of Similarity in Triangles Example as follows
Both triangles are said to be similar △ 𝑩𝑪𝑫 is similar to △ 𝑭𝑮𝑯 (By AAA
to each other if and only both Similarity Rule)
triangle share the same exact shape, Implies triangle BCD is similar to triangle FGH
but not necessarily be of the same because both triangles share at least two
size. equal angles.
When we try to state that two
triangles are similar, we write the
similar triangles in question, followed
by the rule that justifies the
statement.

AAA (Angle-Angle-Angle) Similarity Illustration

Two triangles are said to be similar if
all of three corresponding angle or
just two corresponding angles are
equal

SSS (Side-Side-Side Similarity)

Two triangles are said to be similar if
all of three corresponding sides of
one triangle is of direct proprtion to 𝑘ℎ
𝑑 ℎ 𝑘𝑑
the other

𝑓
𝑘𝑓
SAS (Side-Angle-Side
Similarity)
Two triangles are said to be 𝑎 𝑐 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑐
similar if two corresponding
sides are of direct proportion
to each other and an included
angle is equal
 Title Matrices – Rules, Operations and Applications
Notes and Some examples here are taken directly from CASCO Mathematics Tutor
Credits 4B for demonstration purposes
Date

Before we proceed, I will be providing explanation on various vocabulary that surrounds

how any matrices would be described, added, subtracted and multiplied, it is very
important to understand these terms as any correct matrix operation relies heavily on
correct understanding of core concepts.

Typical structure of a matrix as an example

3 6 As seen from the matrix on the left side of
( )
0 4 this table row, we see a typical matrix
which consist of a large bracket with a set
of numbers (also referred to as elements)
in a rectangle array format.

The term rows and columns

Rows Refers to an arrangement of matrix
elements made horizontally
Columns Refers to an arrangement of matrix
elements made vertically

Let’s see a few real examples that would clear confusion instantly
For the following matrices, state the number of rows and column
4 3 1
( )
0 8 4

Referring to our definitions of rows and columns, we get the following idea on the
above example

The matrix above has 2 elements each in horizontal format for every 3 elements
arranged vertically, therefore the matrix above has 2 rows and 3 columns.

Example
7
( 2)
4

Referring to our above example, we get the following idea

The matrix just right above has 3 elements in horizontal arrangement for every 1 and
only element arranged vertically, therefore the matrix has 3 rows and 1 column.

Order of any matrices is described by the number of rows multiplied by the number of
columns

Example:
State the order of the matrix below.
82 5 2
( )
0 61 18

In this case, the matrix order is said to be 2 × 3, as it has 2 horizontal elements for every
3 vertical elements.

Square Matrices
In the case where the matrix has same number of rows and columns, the matrix is
called a square matrix.
Example:
(5) is a square matrix, as it has order 1 × 1
1 1
( ) is a square matrix, as it has order 2 × 2
2 0

3 3 5
(0 4 1) is also a square matrix, as it has a 3 × 3 order and so on….
2 5 0

Identity matrices are square matrices, specifically, in which all the elements in the
leading diagonal are equal to 1 and the rest of the elements are equal to 0, typically
denoted by the capital letter I.
Examples
𝟏 𝟎
( )
𝟎 𝟏

𝟏 𝟎 𝟎
(𝟎 𝟏 𝟎)
𝟎 𝟎 𝟏

Null Matrices – matrices for which all the elements inside are zero, typically denoted
by 0.
Examples
( 0 0)
 0
( )
0

0 0
(0 0)
0 0

Addition and Subtraction Operation on Matrices

Both operation of addition and subtraction of matrices can only happen if both matrices
are of the exact same order.

Example as given below

7 3 −9 1
( )+( ) will produce valid results as the order are the same
−4 −6 6 7

2 −2 8
( ) + ( ) will not produce valid results of any kind due to differences in order of
1 4 12
both matrices

(5 −6) − (5 7) will produce valid results as the order are the same

8 0 9 0 −5
( )−( ) will not produce valid results of any kind due to differences in
5 −3 7 2 −1
order of both matrices.

Things to note about matrices addition and subtraction

Matrices addition is commutative in nature which means, if 𝐴 and 𝐵 represents two
matrices of the same order, then
𝐴+𝐵 =𝐵+𝐴

Matrices addition is also associative in nature, which means if 𝐴, 𝐵 and C represents

three matrices of the same order, then
(𝐴 + 𝐵) + 𝐶 = 𝐴 + (𝐵 + 𝐶)

However, matrices subtraction is neither commutative nor associative in nature, as with

regular subtraction, which means generally speaking,
𝐴−𝐵 ≠𝐵−𝐴
(𝐴 + 𝐵 ) − 𝐶 ≠ 𝐴 − (𝐵 + 𝐶 )
Multiplication Operation involving Scalar and a Matrix
Multiplication Operation can involve regular numbers (also called a scalar) being
multiplied to a matrix
Given a matrix, 𝐴 and a regular number, 𝑛 the product of the two is 𝑛 × 𝐴

Multiplication Operation involving Multiple Matrices

Both matrices can only be multiplied together provided, the number of columns in the
first matrix matches the number of rows in the second matrix, in mathematical terms,
this implies, given two matrices, 𝐴 and 𝐵

Matrix 𝐴 has order of 𝑚 × 𝑛, Matrix 𝐵 has order of 𝑝 × 𝑞, multiplication can only occur
if 𝑛 = 𝑝

The resultant matrix 𝐴𝐵 after multiplying 𝐴 and 𝐵 shall have an order of 𝑚 × 𝑞

Demonstration of how to perform addition and subtraction of matrices, along with

scalar multiplication
Example (Performing scalar multiplication to a matrix directly)
In the below case, the number 3 is to be multiplied by every single element in the
bracket, which implies

8 3×8 24
3( )=( )=( )
−2 3 × (−2) −6

Example (Performing Addition and Subtraction of Matrices Only)

𝑎 𝑐 𝑓 𝑔
Given matrix 𝐴 = ( ) and 𝐵 = ( )
𝑏 𝑑 ℎ 𝑘

𝑎+𝑓 𝑐+𝑔
𝐴+𝐵 =( )
𝑏+ℎ 𝑑+𝑘

5 8 6 2 11 10
( )+( )=( )
1 8 7 8 8 16

𝑎 𝑐 𝑓 𝑔
Given matrix 𝐴 = ( ) and 𝐵 = ( )
𝑏 𝑑 ℎ 𝑘
 𝑎−𝑓 𝑐−ℎ
𝐴−𝐵 =( )
𝑏−ℎ 𝑑−𝑘

5 8 6 2 −1 6
( )−( )=( )
1 8 7 8 −6 0

Examples (Performing Addition and Subtraction of Matrices, alongside with scalar

multiplication)
1 5 3 10 −7
3 (−3) − 2 (6) = (−9) − (12) = (−21)
4 0 12 0 12

−2 1 1 8 −6 −6 3 4 −3 −2 0
3( )+ ( )=( )+( )=( )
0 4 2 10 12 0 12 5 6 5 18

Demonstration of how to multiply a matrix by another matrix

Step 1. Read the question carefully and note the order of both matrices
Step 2. Determine the order of the resultant matrix after both are multiplied together
Step 3. Multiply the matrices together according to the guideline below

1
( ) (2 3)
6

In the above example, we noted that the matrix order of both matrices are 2 × 1 and
1 × 2 respectively, so the resultant matrix must have an order of 2 × 2

Every time when a matrix is multiplied by another matrix, it is always a matter of

multiplying the rows of a matrix by the columns of another matrix and adding the
product together in the following manner, as seen in the following few examples.

Examples (Performing multiplication of matrices together)

1 1×2 1×3 2 3
( ) (2 3) = ( )=( )
6 6×2 6×3 12 18

−1
1 2 5 1 × (−1) + 2 × 2 + 5 × 3 18
( ) ( 2 )=( )=( )
0 3 −1 0 × (−1) + 3 × 2 + (−1) × 3 3
3
 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1×1+2×0 1 × 2 + 2 × (−1)
( ) =( )( )=( )
0 −1 0 −1 0 −1 0 × 1 + (−1) × 0 0 × 2 + (−1) × (−1)

1 0
=( )
0 1

Applications of Matrices
Andy and Mark each purchased some pencils, pens and erasers. The table below show
the number of stationary purchased and the cost of each item.

Pencil Pen Eraser

Andy 5 6 2
Mark 8 4 0

Cost
Pencil 0.20
Pen 1.50
Eraser 0.40

(a) Write two matrices that can represent the above information and multiply the
matrices together, taking into account the order provided by the table.
(b) Explain what your answer to part (a) represents

(a)
In this case, we get the following matrices, which are multiplied together in the
following manner.
[As the matrix on the left is a 2 × 3 matrix and the matrix on the right is a 3 × 1 matrix,
we will get a 2 × 1 as a product of the 2]

0.20 5 × (0.20) + 6 × (1.50) + 2 × (0.40)

5 6 2 10.80
( ) × (1.50) = ( )=( )
8 4 0 8 × ( 0.20 ) + 4 × ( 1.50 ) + 0 × (0.40) 7.60
0.40

(b)
My answer to part (a) represents the amount of money Andy and Mark spent on
stationary respectively, where Andy spent $10.80 and Mark spent $7.60.
 Title Principles of Money Exchange
Author Liu Hui Ling, Student of Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Date 29/5/2018

Before we start introducing this topic, let us talk about why different country has
different currencies in the first place. There isn’t a short answer for that but these are
the following reasons:
• Origins of Money – The origin of money is different for countries, when they
switch over to notes, their origin is taken into account as well.
• Politics – As a political leader, you want some control over your country’s
economic system and thus, would use your own country’s currency.

As the origin of money is different in different countries, we cannot just say, let the
world adopt a common currency and call it a day, this whole story is further extended by
political reasons where leaders want control over their nation’s spending.

Notation in this topic Examples and Meaning

Currency Notation Usually a 3 Letter (Sometimes 2 or 4, but rare) joined
together, that either abbreviates the currency name or
just the currency prefix.

USD – United States Dollars

JPY – Japanese Yen
EUR – Euros
Amount of Money in that Amount in the currency, followed by the 3-Letter-
Currency Representation of that currency.
200 EUR – Means 200 Euros
115 JPY – Means 200 Japanese Yen

Occasionally symbols are used as well but I rarely see in

textbooks, in the context of currency exchange. However,
if you wish to go for overseas trip, do a good research on
their currency symbols, as I mentioned, the origins of
money are different in various countries, so could be the
language and thus they also adopt different symbols for
their native currency.
Just some extra knowledge I think would be useful if you are planning for overseas
learning trips, these terms may be used frequently in the process of exchanging
currency with a money changer, or perhaps when you study Principle of Accounting next
time.

Extended Terms Meaning

Appreciation To rise in values in relation to other currency, comparing
with the past
Depreciation To decrease in value in relation to other currency,
comparing with the past.

Example question (Disclaimer: This is just an example and may not be true.)

Given the below currency rates, solve the following questions.

1 USD 0.78 SGD
1 SGD 0.64 EUR

Alice wishes to buy a present for her friend as a gift on birthday from an online store.
According to the site, any items sold on that site have their values all calculated in
Euros. Given that the present is 19 Euro, and that she needs to also pay an additional
11 Euro in transportation fees and 7 SGD worth of import charges. How much does
she as to pay at the end in Singapore Dollars?

Step 1. Calculate currency rates from table information.

Since 1 SGD is 0.64 EUR, we calculate what is 1 EUR in SGD.

1 SGD = 0.64 EUR

1 𝑆𝐺𝐷 0.64 𝐸𝑈𝑅
=
0.64 0.64

1.5625 SGD = 1 EUR

(For easy calculation, switch the target currency to the Right-Hand Side)
1 EUR = 1.5625 SGD

Present + Transportation Fee (in Euro) =

19 EUR + 11 EUR = 30 EUR

Convert to target currency, (in Singapore Dollars)

30 EUR = 30(1.5625) SGD = 46.875 SGD
Add Charges (in Singapore Dollars)
46.875 SGD + 7 SGD = 53.875 SGD

Total = 53.875 SGD

Total (Currency Round off to 2 Decimal Places): 53.88 SGD

Bob’s manager has a task for Bob. He is asked to travel to the United States to train
the staff there on using accounting software. His company sponsored 6000 SGD of trip
fees for his accommodation in United States during his trip.

Given he spent 1500 USD in the United States, how much money is he left with in SGD
after the trip ends?

Convert all values to target currency

1 SGD = 0.78 USD
1 USD = 1.28205 SGD (I use 5 decimal places for this calculation, you can use fraction as
well.) (Money changers, typically, don’t use scientific calculators for calculation and thus
unable to use fraction values to calculate.)

Convert Expenses to Target Currency Value

1500 USD = 1500(1.28205) = 1923.075 SGD

Money Left (in SGD) = 6000 SGD – 1923.075 SGD = 4076.925 SGD,
4076.93 SGD (2 Decimal Places)
 Title Mathematics in Practical Situations – Simple and Compound Interest –
Basic Explanation and Examples
Author Liu Hui Ling, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Date 19/7/2018

Objectives of this lesson is to allow students to

• Understand the idea of simple and compound interest
• Understand the formula for simple and compound interest

I am studying business related modules and know what students will face, particularly
those not so mathematically inclined students. I am here to help explain the concepts in
an easy-to-understand manner.

Simple Interest Properties

➢ Amount of Interest Obtained per time interval is constant
➢ Amount of Interest Obtained per time interval is calculated by multiplying the
interest rate by the original amount put in to a system or given (Can be bank
loan, or bank deposit)

Simple Interest (Mathematical Details)

For interest value calculation

𝐼 = 𝑃𝑅𝑇

𝐼 refers to the interest amount obtained

𝑃 stands for principle amount, refers to the amount of money put into the system or
loaned
𝑅 refers to the interest rate in %
𝑇 number of time intervals passed after the money is put into a system

For amount of money in the system or to be returned after 𝑇 number of time intervals is
𝐴 = 𝑃(1 + 𝑅𝑇)
𝐴 refers to the total amount after 𝑇 number of time intervals.
Explanation of the Simple Interest Formula as Given Below
Imagine you are a customer for a bank and you put in $2300 in your bank account.
Based on the agreement, the bank was to offer you an interest rate of 3% per year.

Number of Interest Amount Final Amount

Years Passed
𝑇 𝐼 𝐴
1 $2300 × 3% × 1 2300 + (2300 × 3% × 1)
2 $2300 × 3% × 2 2300 + (2300 × 3% × 2)
3 $2300 × 3% × 3 2300 + (2300 × 3% × 3)

The final amount as you can see from the pattern can be expressed as the following
formula

𝐴 = 𝑃 + (𝑃𝑅𝑇)
𝐴 = 1(𝑃) + 𝑅𝑇(𝑃)

Right Hand Side to be factorized as follows.

𝐴 = 𝑃(1 + 𝑅𝑇)

Compound Interest Properties

➢ Interest Amount keep increasing with Each Passing Time Interval
➢ Interest Rate is constant however, the interest amount is calculated from the
amount from the previous time interval. (I will explain in detail below)

Imagine you went into a bank and deposited $12000 into a new bank account. The bank
is to allow you to earn 4% of interest to be compounded yearly.

Number of Interest Amount Final Amount After 𝑇 number of years

Years Passed passed
𝑇 𝐼 𝐴
1 12000(4%) = 12000(4%) + 12000 = 480 + 12000
= $12480
Or
12000 × 104% = $12480
2 12000(4%) + 12480(4%) = 12000× 104% × 104% = $12979.20
480+499.2 = $979.20
 3 12000(4%) + 12480(4%) + 12000 × 104% × 104% × 104% =
12979.20(4%) = 13498.368
480+499.2+519.168 =
$1498.368

As you can see from the above, a pattern emerges.

𝑨 is the final amount obtained after 𝑻 number of time intervals.

𝒓
𝒓 is the amount of percentage interest given, refers to the percentage interest
𝟏𝟎𝟎
itself.
We derived the following formula for amount of money obtained, after 𝑻 number of
time intervals and 𝒓% of compound interest.
𝒓 𝑻
𝑨 = 𝑷 (𝟏 + )
𝟏𝟎𝟎

(Some textbooks may use different letters. Just change the letters accordingly and you
should get the idea.)
 Title Financial Arithmetic – Hire Purchase
Author Liu Hui Ling, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Date 7/1/2019

Hire purchase, otherwise known more familiar as “pay by installments” appears quite
often in our lives. That may include purchasing a vehicle or any assets for which paying
at one go isn’t always a feasible idea, therefore there will be a need to divide the
payment into equal segments or “installments” and often it will take many years before
you finally clear the installments.

Terminology used in Hire Purchase plans

• Deposit/Initial Payment – The amount of money being paid upfront at the point
of purchase.
• Installments – The number of “intervals” for which the payment is divided into
equal segments.

Structure of a Hire Purchase Plan Which Are Important To Note

Initial payment amount Example: A car cost $50 000 and the buyer pay an
initial amount of 40%, implying the initial amount is
$50 000(40%) = $20 000
Number of Installments Example: The car dealer allows you to pay the
remaining amount in 24 months, each payment to be
done every month, which works out to 24
installments in total.
Interest Rate (Typically simple The car dealer also requires you to pay an additional
interest) 2.5% interest on top of your total installment
amount.
Total Interest payable Example: The total interest can be computed as
follows:
Total Interest payable =
Remaining Amount× Interest Rate

In the car example, the remaining amount is

$50 000 − $20 000 = $30 000

Total interest payable is

$30 000 × 2.5% = $750
Amount Paid per Installment Amount Paid per Installment =
𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡+𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

Using the car example, we can calculate the

Amount paid per installment as
$30 000 + $750
= $1281.25
24

Total Amount Payable Total Amount Payable is computed as follows

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 =
(𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 + 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 +
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒)

Which works out to be

$20 000 + $30 000 + $750 = $50 750
 Title Vectors in two dimensions
Date 6/7/2024
Notice Diagrams created with help from various free web applications.
This topic assumes a sufficiently good understanding of coordinate geometry
topic as taught in secondary one.

Understanding the concept of scalars and vectors.

Scalars are quantities that only possess magnitude, while vectors are quantities that
possess both magnitude and direction.

Notation for vectors that needs understanding here:

(Since we are only dealing with 2D plane here, we will only go through notations used in
basic 2D vector geometry)

Any vectors in a 2D plane can be described by the following example notation, given two
points, 𝐴 and 𝐵 and the purpose of the vector is to describe the movement from point 𝐴
and point 𝐵.

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵 , where 𝐴 represents the starting point of the vector and 𝐵 represents the ending (or
destination) point of the vector.

Visual Illustration as shown below:

Vectors can also be represented using lower case alphabets in the following manner,
given vector 𝒂 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵
The most important rules of vector operations (as it serves a strong basis for other
rules below):
Triangle Law of Addition
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵 + ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐵𝐶 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐶
In the case of the diagram representation below, 𝑎 + 𝑏 = 𝑐

Parallelogram Law of Addition

𝑨𝑩 + ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝑨𝑪 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑨𝑫

Basic Law of Subtracting a vector from another vector.

𝑎 − 𝑏 = 𝑎 + (−𝑏) = 𝑐 or 𝐴𝐶 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ − ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐵𝐶
Rules of Addition, Subtraction and Scalar Multiplication of Column Vectors
𝒂 𝒄 𝒂+𝒄
( )+( )=( )
𝒃 𝒅 𝒃+𝒅
𝒂 𝒄 𝒂−𝒄
( )−( )=( )
𝒃 𝒅 𝒃−𝒅
𝒄 𝒌𝒄
𝒌( ) = ( )
𝒅 𝒌𝒅

Vectors as represented under a 2D Cartesian coordinate system

Notation and Formula:

𝒎 𝒙 𝒂
( ) + (𝒚 ) = ( )
𝒏 𝒃 End point of the
vector (Also called
the destination)

Starting
point of
vector
(Also Displacement
called of vector
the itself, the
origin) number of
units moved
on the x and
y coordinate

As a result of the above formula, it is also apparently possible to find the vector’s
displacement after being given two points (origin and destination) by the following
method.

Given two points from 𝑨(𝒄, 𝒅) to 𝑩(𝒇, 𝒈)

The vector displacement across the plane can be found by first expressing the
coordinates in column vector format and letting the destination point minus the origin
point

𝑓 𝑐
( ) − ( ) = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵
𝑔 𝑑
Formula for analysis of vectors
𝒂
Given a vector ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | = √𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐
𝑶𝑨 = ( ) , the absolute length of the vector is |𝑶𝑨
𝒃

Conditions for 2 vectors to be parallel

Given vector 𝑎 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑂𝐴 and vector 𝑏 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑃𝐵
Vector 𝑎 can only be parallel to vector 𝑏 if 𝑎 = 𝑘𝑏

Conditions for 2 vectors to be collinear

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ = 𝑘𝑃𝑅
Given vector 𝑃𝑄 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ , then 𝑃𝑄 is parallel to 𝑃𝑅,
𝑃𝑄 = 𝑘𝑃𝑅
The points 𝑃, 𝑄 and 𝑅 are collinear.

Example 1. (Taken from CASCO Mathematics Tutor 4B)

8 𝑚
Given that A is the point (−9, 2), ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐵𝐴 = ( ) and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐶𝐷 = ( ).
−6 −3
Find
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ |
(a) |𝐵𝐴
(b) the coordinates of 𝐵.
(c) the value of 𝑚 is ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐶𝐷 is parallel to ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐵𝐴

1(a)
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | = √82 + (−6)2 = 10 units
|𝐵𝐴

1(b)
Given that Point B is the origin of the vector and Point A is the destination of the vector.
−𝟗 𝟖 −𝟏𝟕
( )−( )=( )
𝟐 −𝟔 𝟖

Point B = (−𝟏𝟕, 𝟖)

1(c)
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐶𝐷 = 𝑘𝐵𝐴
𝑚 8
( ) = 𝑘( )
−3 −6

To determine the value of 𝑘 we perform the following operation:

−3 1
𝑘= =
−6 2
 1
∴ 𝑚 = (8) = 4
2

Example 2. (Taken from CASCO Mathematics Tutor 4B)

−6 0
The position vectors of the points 𝐴, 𝐵 and 𝐶 , relative to the origin, 𝑂 are ( ) , ( )
5 𝑚
10
and ( ) respectively.
−3
(a) Express ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐶 as column vectors
(b) If the points A, B and C lie in a straight line, find the value of 𝑚.

2(a)
Using vector formula ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑂𝐵 − ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑂𝐴 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 0 −6 6
𝐴𝐵 = ( ) − ( ) = ( )
𝑚 5 𝑚−5

Using vector formula ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗

𝑂𝐶 − ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑂𝐴 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐶
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ = ( 10 ) − (−6) = ( 16 )
𝐴𝐶
−3 5 −8

2(b)
Using vector collinearity principle ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵 = 𝑘𝐴𝐶

6 16
( ) = 𝑘( )
𝑚−5 −8

6 3
𝑘= =
16 8

3
(−8) = 𝑚 − 5
8

−3 = 𝑚 − 5
𝑚=2